There is a very interesting post on AstrosDaily about the possibility of trading Jeriome Robertson to the Baltimore Orioles for middle infielder Brian Roberts. The Orioles would almost certainly do this deal because they've got Jerry Hairston, Jr. blocking Roberts at 2B and newly signed Miguel Tejada at SS.

I kind of like this deal, and here's the long, stat-heavy expanation:

Roberts is a hell of a lot better than Jose Vizcaino and Eric Bruntlett.

Ok, so maybe trading a young pitcher who just won 15 games for a backup middle infielder with a career high 704 OPS sounds a little weird:

The Good

1. Roberts is 26. He's going to get better.

2. He has an excellent career SB% - over 80%. He would immediately become the Astros best pinch runner (not saying that much)

3. He's an above average fielder. He had a Range Factor of 5.08 at 2B last year, compared to 4.94 for the league, and a fielding percentage of .987, compared to .982

4. He draws a few walks. 46 out of 460 ABs last year.

5. He hits righties fairly well - 720 OPS against them last year.

The Bad

1. He has very little power.

2. (The Main Reason) We might be able to get more for Robertson. A good prospect or two (from Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, the Rockies, the Rangers...) would be great.

All in all, if Gerry Hunsicker can't find much else for Robertson, he might want to do this deal - Roberts isn't going to set the world on fire, but anything that'll get Jose Vizcaino off the team next year has my approval.