According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Cubs and Orioles are talking Brian Roberts trade again. A source of Heyman’s "indicated discussions were starting to get serious."
Heyman says one scenario has the O’s sending Jay Payton along with Roberts to Chicago. Although he’d fill the Cubs’ desire for a right-handed hitting fourth outfielder who can handle center, Payton has to have negative trade value with a $5MM salary for ’08 and a .668 OPS last year. The Cubs could send Jason Marquis back, but his two years and $19.25MM might be overcompensating for Payton’s bad contract.
Heyman names the usual suspects as possible Orioles targets: Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, and Ronny Cedeno. Murton could again be stuck as a fourth outfielder in Baltimore; blocked prospect Eric Patterson might make more sense.
