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Roberts to Rockies?

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Rockies may approach the Orioles about Brian Roberts if Jayson Nix continues to struggle offensively. Nix, who is hitting .143 with 0 HR and 1 RBI, is a top prospect in the Rockies organization. He is a career .256 hitter with 78 homeruns in seven minor league seasons, but many scouts believe his average will come up playing in Colorado. Matt Holliday was a .275 hitter in the minors and is now a .319 career hitter, so it is possible. Many believe the Orioles will go through with their fire sale in July, trading Brian Roberts, Ramon Hernandez, and possibly Melvin Mora. The Cubs remain interested in trading for Brian Roberts, as do the Indians. However, the Indians may not want to move Jhonny Peralta to third if he continues to swing a hot bat in June or July.

The Rockies have much to offer the Orioles in a trade. They could easily pry Ian Stewart from the Rockies, as well as two or three other prospects. Chris Nelson is a shortstop down in Double-A who hit 19 homeruns last season. Brandon Hynick won sixteen games last season and has a solid changeup. Hector Gomez is also a shortstop, but he is still in Single-A and no one is sure if he can play second base just yet. The Rockies are known to build their team from the ground up, so I doubt they would make a trade. My money is on the Cubs, who remain willing to part with several pitchers, maybe even Rich Hill now that he is off to a slow start.