Brian Roberts

Once upon a time Brian Roberts was among the elite second basemen in the game.  Doesn’t that feel like decades ago at this point?  Even before injuries limited him to just 59 games in 2010 Roberts’ star had lost a bit of its shine.

Just look at his stolen base totals in recent years:

The MLB offseason is already in full swing, and many top free agents have already been taken off the board.

So who's left? And what players might be available for teams that don't have the pocket change to go out and sign a free agent?

Begin the slideshow to see the top five players available to sign or trade for at each position.

Begin Slideshow

And we’re back. Hopefully the short week didn’t treat you too badly. Good to see the NL finally win an All-Star game, couldn’t believe it has been 14 years since their last win.

But now we get move to one of the most fun parts of the baseball season: the trade deadline.

The waiver wire suddenly gets a big boost in activity as people jump on players who suddenly have value due to the transactions of playoff hopefuls and surrender monkeys.

It's been nearly 12.5 years since the Baltimore Orioles have been in a playoff game. It's been 12.5 years since Baltimore has last finished a season with a final record above the .500 mark. It's been nearly 5.5 years since the Orioles have seen any place in the final standings better than fourth (and if you don't count the 2004 season, it's been nearly 12.5 years, as well).

I want to start this piece by making it clear that I have been a loyal fan of the Baltimore Orioles for 40 years and hope to be a fan for another 40 years.

So it wasn't his back, but it looks like Brian Roberts will be headed to the DL.

Roberts came up wincing and in noticeable pain after swiping his second base of the year in the first inning of the Orioles home opener against the Blue Jays. The diagnosis: an abdominal strain.

Roberts was a spring-training worry for the Orioles, missing almost all of the preseason schedule with back issues. He reportedly had them straightened out, and he looked to be rounding into regular season form with a two-hit performance last night in the O's victory over the Rays.

With the start of the 2010 baseball season now upon us, those around the Baltimore Orioles are cautiously optimistic that after more than a decade of decay, the team is ready to turn things around. The big question, given their current streak of 12 consecutive losing seasons, is what would be considered a successful season for the O’s in 2010.

How does any team replace a player who has averaged 46 doubles over the last six years, 39 stolen bases over the last four, and made two All-Star appearances?

More importantly, how do you replace a guy like that when you are the Orioles, and the player in question is Brian Roberts?

That is the dilemma currently facing the Orioles as they draw ever closer to Opening Day 2010.

Ever since Andy McPhail took over as General Manager, Baltimore Orioles fans have had this year circled. This is supposed to be the year that we saw signs that all of the waiting and developing prospects was going to show itself. However, as Spring Training is ¾ done, it seems that something unforeseen could stand in the way, injuries.

Every manager in baseball will say the same thing about record in Spring Training; it doesn’t matter.