Astros Acquire Miguel Tejada

That's a lot of mediocrity. I'd rather have one great prospect than 5 mediocre ones. Scott is useful and Patton is also a useful pitcher. Are any of the other 3 intriguing?

Seems to me this is the beginning to a Baltimore Fire Sale. With Tejada gone, what would be the point of keeping Roberts and Bedard?? They will now both be gone.

I hope the astros really didnt give up that much, troy patton is the part that hurts the most

I actually think they have a formiddable lineup.

Pence
Berkman
Lee
Tejada

not shabby. now if they only had a 2, 3, 4, and 5 SP...

is this real? can't be....

I'd sure rather have a 'roided up tejada, compared with the one the astros just got.

odd move by Houston, great trade for baltimore

I really don't understand this move by houston. They are not good enough to win right now so why bring in a has been who will only cost you money and prospects.

That is 27 years of controlled salary for 2. Even if the O's get half of those years at even league average production they win huge.

I don't like it.

Traded a day before the report was released. Think he was getting nervous?

As an Astros fan, I will be the first to welcome the fanbase to at least 5 years of complete mediocrity. What the hell were they thinking?

I totally agree with Tim..this is the type of trade that got Tim Purpurra fired. Aside formt he comments others made on some of the players, I saw Dennis Sarfate pitch in AAA many times and at that level he was not quite dominating in every start, but close. Great stuff. He struck out 14 and walked one with a 1.08 ERA in 8 innings for Houston last year. I wonder if the O's kissed them before they screwed them?

I'm surprised theycould not land one or two marque prospects...one of those deals that I'm not sure anyone wins. Houston does not have the pitching to compete and the Orioles do not get any definitive pieces for their future (Patton looks like a back of the rotation guy)

They should move Bedard to the Reds(Votto & Bailey) and Roberts to Seattle(Baltenien/Clement...move Clement for another prospect since they have Wieters)soon.

The Stros got hosed. Losing Sarfate and Patton hurts. Tejada won't do squat. And he better be the 3b!

This looks like a Hershel Walker trade. If the 'stros are still this dumb--don't fear them. They have hitting aplenty now--but i still see them as thin in pitching. The Jennings trade last year was a nightmare and Jason Hirsh didn't even stay healthy the whole year for the Rocks--watch and see what he does the next couple years. If you play fantasy--i see him as a good sleeper candidate.

If Astros fans don't like this deal now, wait until Wade gives Tejada a 4 year extension with a no trade clause.

Yeah, well there was reportedly a deal on the table that would send Josh Hamilton to the Cubs for Sean Marshall. The thing is, that deal, like the ones being proposed for Roberts, only made sense from the Cubs' perspective.

Good lord... that's a lot of players for one fading shortstop.

cubfever,
I could not agree with you more. That JEnnings trade was awefull. A one year rental in Jenning for your best pitching prospect. That is just flat out stupid.

Are the Orioles picking up some of the money on Tejada's contract ? Cause if not, talk about bad taste. It's like they screwed Wade in the bum, without having the decency to give him a reacharound.

To bad Astros fans

Being the huge astros fan i am, i don't like how much the astros gave up for him one bit. Patton and Sarfate are the two I really hate to see, and with those two gone it hurts to see Albers go as well. I really wouldn't have minded if we kept Patton and traded Everett, he's one of the best defensive ss in the game and now we have no place for them. Its gonna be a rough season. We will be able to hit, but our pitching is going to suffer greatly.

I can see MacPhail's calendar now.

12/12/2007 - Wake up at 5am. Pick someone before value drops even more.

Damn. Just damn. Good move for the O's I guess. It sucks to lose Albers, as I always felt he'd get it together and turn out to be a fine pitcher, more so than Patton.

The thing that kills it for me is having Tejada play short. Everett's brilliance was one of the highlights of the team, for me.

Let's hope Burke + Everett will land us a decent starter.

They're building a powerhouse offense!

At some point next season, preferably the beginning, they'll stick Matsui in the 7 hole so that the lineup can look like this:

Bourn
Pence
Berkman
Lee
Tejada
Wiggington
Matsui
Towles

That's just scary...

With the way they're laying all their cards on the table for next year, it's a given they'll be bringing in a SP or 4 for their rotation. Clement? Colon? Jennings? Hernandez? Weaver? They'll be overpaying for these guys for sure. The 'Stros clearly have the NL Central crown in sight for '08.

That's what happens when you hire Ed Wade. Houston, I have two words for you: Pat Burrell.

Some teams don't seem to be turned off by the steroid allegations, like the Royals with Guillen and the Angels last year with Matthews. I'd assume the Astros feel the same with Tejada, hoping his production is worth the "potential" drama.

The reported lineup from the press conference just held was:

Bourn
Matsui
Tejada
Berkman
Lee
Pence
Wigginton
Towles
Pitcher

Ya know for all the ripping JP Riccardi takes, I'm starting to be really glad the Jays have him. Things could be alot worse.

That looks like a pretty formidable lineup. It all depends on Bourn and Matsui if they sink or swim. As you saw what happened last year with the Dodgers, Furcal and Pierre had not-so-good years, and the offense weighs heavily on their ability to produce.

We need pitching more than offense at short.

That's my problem with this trade. Trade the farm for pitching, okay. But for a shortstop? Who no doubt used steroids? What?

I don't see the sense in it. Not to mention I can't figure out who would want Everett in a trade. No offense to him, I quite like him, but who values defense more than offense?

I know those young guys were highly ranked in the Houston farm system, but as a whole they don't appear to translate to much better than anything currently in the rotation anyway. If that's the young mediocrity you've got, it won't be too hard to pick up someone for the rotation that's as good as anybody they've currently got.

It was probably the case that the trade scenarios they perused wouldn't net them a marginally better pitcher than anyone they already have, whereas the margin of improvement at SS is pretty big.

It doesn't seem like those guys would have netted you a Haren, Santana, Bedard anyway. There's plenty of FA pitchers that will probably yield the same results as the youngsters, but at 4-5 in the rotation there's still some decent arms to be had, albeit at a slightly higher price.

There's always the Clemens factor, too. He'd still be good in the NL.

Picking up a closer might be a good idea, though.

Braves fan here... Very weird trade IMO. Tejada is a guy you would acquire if you think you're team is a bat and a clubhouse guy away from winning the division and competing for a World Series... Are the Astros really that team? Even with Tejada, Pence, Berkman and Lee, I still say their offense is not the best in the division, and certainly not in the National league. I'd still take the Cubs, Mets, Phillies and Braves (and maybe even the Rockies and Brewers) as having a better offense. Not to mention every team I named is FAR superior in the starting rotation AND bullpen... Who will be starters 2, 3, and 5? (assuming Oswalt is #1 and Wandy is #4). Who will be the setup man? The closer?

Wow I am surprised by the 5 for 1 deal.

Sarfate- I always liked him but he was given alot of chances in the Brewer org. and pissed those away. I thought he could be a decent arm in the Pen though for the Astros.

Its amazing you give up 3 arms, a month or so after giving up Lidge. Plus now that MOST bull pen pitchers are signed and the only starters that are left is Livan and Silva...

Anyway those that say the Astros now have a stacked lineup... they do, but I still dont think its better than the Brewers, Cubs or Reds lineup. So they have not really gained anything IMO.

If the Astros want this deal to work out, they really need to play Tejada at ss and find a productive 3b (ie. not wigginton).

Apparently Ensberg might get non-tendered. If I were the Astros, I'd look into bringing him back. Though admittedly, I'm not a Stros fan and I might be unaware of some bad blood that would prevent that from happening.

a. Tejada + Everett or
b. Tejada + Wigginton or
c. Tejada + Ensberg

I'd go with option C.

Even if Everett is the best fielding SS in the NL, his defense doesn't make up for a sub .650 OPS. Playing Tejada at 3b, he'd also be barely above-average offensively for a 3b. (~800 OPS). No better than Ensberg can do if given the chance.

Since I didn't get the chance to say this before ... As a Cub fan, *thank you astros* for signing Kaz Matsui. For what its worth, ZiPs projects Matsui to have a .638 OPS in 2008 and decreasing over the next 2 years. Everett and Matsui would (or will) be an offensive black hole in the Astros line up. Maybe the Astros pitchers should bat in the 7th spot.

I had the opportunity to watch Albers against the Brewers this past season and see him as a limited 2-pitch guy. Better than a bunch of Astros farmhands doesn't make that special. Looks a like a consistent 1.50 WHIP guy.

With regard to Sarfate - his father dabbled in online forums in his son's "defense" toward the end of Dennis's run with the Brewers. A really odd, confrontational tone if I recall correctly, and perhaps indicative of larger attitude issues. Again, a thrower and not necessarily a pitcher. Converter to reliever about a year ago when it became obvious that starting wasn't going to work. 27yo.

Actually Kevin Ty Wiggington was decent for the Astros last year after they traded for him...

He has some pop in his bat decent hitter...

who the hell is tejada???

hey i bet uve never been jacked off by a girl

Not trying to brag here, but I emailed Tim last weekend to tell him that the reports on the internet of this trade being dead were incorrect and that the Astros and Orioles were indeed still talking. He never did post it up on here, he just posted that the trade talks were never close to happening. Maybe people should stop taking everything an ESPN or FoxSports sportswriter says as the gospel truth.

I just don't get why Wade didn't wait one day until all the names were released. One day, and his value could have potentially dropped a ton. I'd be so sad if my team just hired this GM.

just because they ranked high, doesn't mean they were "good." everyone knows the stros farm was terrible...rankings mean nothing for them. Albers couldn't stay consistent, and they had to shut down Patton because he was already getting hurt for the short time he pitched. We had no room for Luke Scott. He will be missed by astros fans. Constanzo was aquired from the phillies and had plenty of power but no average and plenty of K's. I might be wrong about all of them, but on paper this looks like a good deal.

i bet you know nothing about baseball

yeah, but i'm just saying it's worth the risk of waiting one day, and even if you want him after he's named on the report, you probably don't have to deal FIVE prospects for Miggy. seems like there's a reason the O's moved on this deal today. perhaps there was a deadline and it had to be done today...maybe?

...31 yrs old is not old, guys...the traditional peak years of a ball player is 28-32...on average ballplayers starting declining at 34-35...but true quality guys can continue to be productive for beyond that...

...if Tejada is declining now then he was just a mirage to begin with...but if you take the fact that he's had among the poorest protection (Millar, Gibbons, Huff?!), combined by his notorious willingness to hack, unwillingness to take a walk, and 50 or so point rise in GIDPs, it sounds like he's been falling into bad habits and pulling off the ball too much by trying to drive outside pitches for power...

...also consider that he missed considerable time last year due to a wrist injury but still hit near .300 and 18 HRs...his true average is prolly not 34 (which he hit in his HR Derby year) but more likely in the 25 HR range...I think the Stros got some suppressed real value in Tejada...it wouldn't surprise me if he hits .300+ and dings in 25-30 HRs next year...

...the poor part of this trade is that the Stros might still lose out on this trade...

What makes you think he'll have better plate discipline in Houston? Beane never could give this guy a Chavez-like extension because his "swing off the island" approach drove him crazy. It certainly isn't Jay Gibbons' fault, and it's pretty easy to scout and exploit.

...another point is that, the primary reason why Beane let Tejada walk is because he wouldn't take a walk...and for the As org, that's a sin...today we are seeing what that can do to his numbers...but as soon as he has protection, I think he explodes and makes people forget about all this talk...I see a lot of folks placing him in the 5 hole but I think to get optimum production you need him at 3 or 4...

Joel... i was listening live to the press conference on 1560 The Game here in Houston and that is the lineup that was reported. John Granato made a good point that i agree with and that would be switching Matsui and Pence in that lineup. I didn't come up with it myself.

Also as a result they said that Adam Everett if he can't be traded today, He will be a free agent come tomorrow.

I think Beane's views regarding onbase are correct. But he undervalues speed and aggressiveness (not talking about stealing) and he needs to emphasize power more. Focusing on one stat does not a genius make.

Tejada will be a dramatic upgrade offensively for Houston. Offensive output at SS will double from 100 runs + rbi to 200 runs+ rbi. I don't care how good with the glove Everett is-- he's not going to make up for 100 runs+rbi with his glove. Any way you cut it, this is good for Houston.

Getting Biggio out of there ought to help as well. Kaz is a lot faster that Biggio and posted an onbase of .342 in 2007. If he can replicate that in 08, he could easily score 100 runs.

Does anyone here think Tejada's declining numbers could possibly be because HE PLAYED ON THE ORIOLES??? A team that is out of the race on April 2. A team who's would be better off with a monkey and a dartboard making decisions than Peter Angelos?

This is an amazing trade IMO. We gave away two AAAA players (Scott and Albers), a Prospect who I think is maybe a number 3-4 pitcher based on his declining k/9 in the minors (Patton), and then two other ok midlevel prospects for a former MVP. Not to mention, we get rid of the worst offensive SS in the majors. Wade is king of Houston today, and I am glad he can make moves to get things done. This winter, no pitching is available, so get the best offense possible and hope that a few things fall into place. In our division, we are competing against the Brewers and the Collapse-ubs. We are definitely going to be in the race and have meaningful games come Sept. Thank you Wade. Not watching the black hole of death (7-8-9) hit this year will be worth watching the Stros.