The stove is hot in Charm City

A plethora of baseball trade rumors eminating from Baltimore this morning. These deals are the ones that are being reportred as possibilities on local talk radio. This means that these are the deals the Orioles are talking to their local press guys about, and may be slightly different than those you'll read about in other internet sources. These are some pretty significant possibilities, team-changing ones. And were I an Orioles fan, I would be rooting for all of them to transact.

Rumor #1: Brian Roberts and Hayden Penn to the Atlanta Braves for Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche.

Giles becomes a free agent after this season, Roberts after the next. Penn has shown signs of life, but LaRoche is a 30-homer 27 year old first baseman with three years left until free agency. If you believe in LaRoche, the Orioles should make this move. If you question his breakout season, maybe not.

Rumor #2: Jay Gibbons, Chris Ray and Jeff Fiorentino to the Devil Rays for Carl Crawford and a PTBNL.

This one gets filed in my "too good to be true" file for O's fans. But the mere fact that Tampa Bay is shopping this guy should get their franchise revoked. They have him signed to a four-year $15 million contract with a club option for 2009/10. That is an absolutely ridiculous below-market price for a 25 year old with world class speed, and an improving eye and power. No-brainer from Baltimore's perspective.

Rumor #3: Rodrigo Lopez to the Milwaukee Brewers for Geoff Jenkins.

Lopez has had some good years, but how valuable is it to have an innings-eater when his ERA hovers around 6.00? Jenkins is injury-prone, but he's still a quality hitter and above-average defender. This deal started off as Lopez for Kevin Mench, but Milwaukee needs to keep Mench and his head as a back-up for the Sausage Race. Also, Lopez is involved in trade rumors to the Cubs in a straight-up swap for Jacque Jones.

Rumor #4: Chris Ray to Tampa Bay for Rocco Baldelli.

I could go either way on this potential deal. Baldelli is an all-world player when it comes to tools. But his injury history is equally ugly. Chris Ray is a studly looking closer, and as the market for closers seems to be high, I think it would behoove the O's to hold out for a package deal (like the Crawford one) that brings in a higher level of talent.