Undaunted by Brian Roberts’ name appearing in the Mitchell Report and his subsequent admission to using steroids, Cubs GM Jim Hendry is set to acquire the Orioles second baseman, according to reports on Chicagosports.com. The reported deal has the Cubs acquiring Roberts in exchange for infielder Ronny Cedeno, and young pitchers Sean Gallagher and Sean Marshall.
“I’ve put a sweet deal on the table,” said Hendry. “And I never thought I’d say ‘sweet deal’ and Ronny Cedeno in the same sentence.”
The deal-sealer appears to be the inclusion of the left-handed Marshall, who won seven games with an ERA of 3.92 for the Cubs in ’07. The clincher for the Cubs appears to be the Orioles’ willingness to include 25 boxes of hypodermic needles for Roberts, should he ever decide to try steroids more than the just once he already owned up to.
By Jeremy Barewin
