Roberts finally in Chicago

We've got the obligatory Brian Roberts trade talk stories coming out today with the Orioles in Chicago to visit the Cubs. Apparently the imminent deals reported in spring training were never very close, according to Orioles president Andy MacPhail.

Despite media reports suggesting otherwise, MacPhail denied he was ever really close to trading Roberts to the Cubs. MacPhail spoke to several teams this offseason about Roberts, including the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians, according to league sources.

However, the talks with the Cubs are the ones that went public. The Cubs made a multi-player offer for Roberts that included shortstop Ronny Cedeno and pitching prospects Sean Gallagher and Donald Veal. The teams talked about several other packages but could never agree on a deal, and both sides have benefited in the short term.

As the article points out, things have worked well for both teams. The Cubs own the best record in the majors. The Orioles have played competitive baseball.