The Brian Roberts Trade Talks Are Back

It's been a few weeks since there's been any talk coming out of Baltimore involving Brian Roberts being traded, but that doesn't mean that the Orioles had decided to keep Roberts around for this season. Now that the team they spent most of their time talking to about Roberts, the Chicago Cubs, starting second baseman Mark DeRosa has been having heart problems this spring, the talks are back on.

The Cubs and Orioles have resumed trade talks involving second baseman Brian Roberts, and one person familiar with the talks indicated discussions were starting to get serious.

In one of the trade proposals being discussed, outfielder Jay Payton would accompany Roberts to Chicago.

The Orioles are seeking a package that would possibly include Sean Gallagher, Sean Marshall, Matt Murton, and Ronny Cedeno.

This is one of those trades that makes sense for both sides, yet neither side has been able to get it done. Well, actually, they did get it done. It's just that Peter Angelos wasn't ready to give up on the Brian Roberts Shrine he keeps in his office at the time. Apparently he's finally found the inner strength and courage to say goodbye, but with Angelos, you never know the lengths he'll go to to screw the Orioles.

The Orioles are clearly rebuilding, so moving Roberts for a package of young players makes the most sense for the organization. As for the Cubs, adding Roberts to their lineup would finally enable the team to move Alfonso Soriano to the middle of the order, and make one of the NL's best lineups even better.