Roberts to Sox? Not for Floyd

Is White Sox GM Kenny Williams going to stand pat and be content going to spring training with his current group of players? Probably not. The Sox still have a hole in the starting rotation, and the guess here is they roll the dice and sign an established arm like Freddy Garcia, Carl Pavano or Paul Byrd. You can pretty much forget about another free agent, Jon Garland, as long as Ozzie’s in the dugout. They never got along before Garland was traded to the Angels last off-season, so that bridge has been torched. And you can forget about a rumor that came out of Baltimore a few days ago. The White Sox are said to be offering up-and-coming starter Gavin Floyd to the Orioles for second baseman Brian Roberts, but it ain’t going to happen. Kenny tried to get Roberts before the July 31 trade deadline, offering shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Orioles boss Andy MacPhail nixed that deal, as expected, and the Cabrera is still looking for work this winter (as are a lot of free agents). Roberts is a great player, and he would immediately fill a huge need for the Sox at the leadoff spot. But Roberts is a free agent after 2009 and he’ll probably be retired before Floyd is eligible to test the market. In other words, the young starter is going to come pretty cheap for the Sox over the next four years. For the record, Kenny said he hasn’t talked to anybody affiliated with the Orioles since November. So there you go.