Tradin' Times

We all realize that the free agent crop this year was sparse and how that development has brought back the trade as the more prevalent venue for teams to upgrade their rosters.

Now more than ever, a GM must be as knowledgeable and shrewd as possible.

With that said, who should our fearless leader be willing to part with and for who?

Most of the trade talk surrounding our beloved men in blue this off-season has centered around B. Roberts, 2B Orioles, so that is the trade I'm going to address.

Everyone needs pitching and the Orioles are no exception, especially with the impending departure of Bedard to Seattle. Still, the Orioles are looking to dump high priced players and Hendry should use that to his advantage in his negotiations.

The most valuable prospects the Cubs have are Sean Gallagher and Felix Pie, but that doesn't mean they should be included in a deal, especially for a 30+ year old who mans a position the Cubs already have a competent player in DeRosa.

The Cubs don't have a center-fielder and Pie just has to much upside. Gallagher has excelled at every level and is probably the Cubs best pitching prospect. Not to mention both of them are only 22 years old.

If the Orioles won't make the deal for Marshall, Veal and some other assorted cast then screw 'em.

Point is, Hendry not McPhail is bargaining from strength and if the Orioles don't want to deal on the Cubs terms, let them see if they do better elsewhere.

Hendry has to remember, trading players is a game of chess, not checkers.