Brian Roberts might be playing ball in Chicago next season but for the White Sox and not the Cubs. Roch Kubatko reported on his blog Friday night that the Orioles and White Sox have discussed a deal that would send Gavin Floyd to the Orioles for Brian Roberts.
Not long after Kubatko broke the rumor, he joined Dave Kaplan on Sports Central and discussed the possibility of Roberts being traded to the Sox….. According to Roch Kubatko’s blog post, the White Sox would want to trade 17-game winner Gavin Floyd straight up for Brian Roberts but the Orioles would want more for the face of their franchise.
Kubatko told Dave Kaplan that Kenny Williams loves Brian Roberts and has wanted to add him to the Sox for a while….Kubatko threw in the fact Williams would probably like to stick it to the Cubs as well.
Kubatko sees the possible deal as the Sox selling high on Gavin Floyd and mentioned the Orioles asked about Floyd, not the other way around. Dave Kaplan brought up the fact to Kubatko that he does not feel Andy MacPhail would ever trade Brian Roberts to the Cubs. Kubatko disagreed and said in the right deal MacPhail would trade him to the Cubs.
Kubatko said a contract extension for Brian Roberts seems unlikely at this point. Roberts wants to play meaningful games in September and does not want to be a part of the rebuilding process. Roberts will become a free agent following the 2009 season.
Kubatko said Chris Getz might be the other player involved in the deal going from the White Sox to the Orioles. He said he would make the White Sox the favorite to land Roberts over the Cubs because the Sox are offering a better deal.
After Kaplan finished talking to Kubatko he added that he does not think Andy MacPhail would ever trade Brian Roberts to his former employer. He said the two teams agreed on the list of players that would have been sent to Baltimore for Roberts last year then MacPhail changed his mind.