Astros Tejada Trade Not Close, But Possible

Ed can't pull this off....can he?

this could also be a salary dump too. but yes, the package is a little light, but i think everyone is a little hesitant on dealing for him.

a LITTLE light?...come on, this is a joke, a 2B who can't outhit Ryan Theriot, a SS who-while GREAT defensively-is one of the worst hitters around and a pitcher?

The O's were asking for a bounty before this, why would they settle for that pile of crap when they could certainly get better from the Angels or Cubs

I hope it doesn't include Wandy. He is the Astros 2nd best pitcher.

It would be great if they can keep Everett and put Tejada at 3rd. That would be the nuts.

It may be more of a Salary Dump for the Os but we will glady take Tejada in Houston

Im going to go ahead and call shananigans on this. It will never happen

tejada could benefit nicely from that short porch in left. his numbers could then somewhat resemble his numbers when he was juiced up.

I haven't followed Tejada, but hasn't he lost a lot of power? Plus, how long would the Astros control him? If the contract is longer than 1 year, can he opt out of it if he is traded? If so, the Astros might only have him for 1/2 a year (after he serves his suspension).

because asking for wood and weaver for an aging, steroid monger, numbers declining, bad defensive SS whos going to have to move to 3B soon is absolutely ridiculous.

Patton had a 3.55 ERA for his short time in the majors. He pitched, what, 12 innings? I don't see how anyone could be unhappy with that, or even make a reasonable opinion based on 12 innings.

So much for "speed and defense up the middle?"

Anyone remember Berkman and Tejada going at it in the HR derby in Houston a few years back? Both were mashing that day (granted it was a HR derby).

The pitcher is the key. Patton and Paulino are both quite good pitching prospects. Paulino is underrated, don't know why everyone seems so enamored by Patton, despite a complete inability to strike anyone out at AA or AAA.

mymrbig got exactly the reason why Im not impressed with Patton, I could care less about how in did in 12 Big League innings, its the 150 AA-AAA innings where his K/9 kept declining.

uh oh. Crasnick says on the ESPN blog that the O's have backburnered Brian Robert trade talks (w/ the Cubs) to concentrate on trading Bedard and Tejada, so there could be something to this after all.

The bloggers updated with this:

~ The Orioles' Andy MacPhail left Nashville late Thursday morning. So that makes it official -- the Orioles won't be making any deals here.

...Everyone can probably let the breath out for a little while atleast...

good. keep him away from the Angels. we could do much better than the aging, declining Tejada

I just called the radio station, anyone hear it? These guys are just making up the players that the O's are getting in return. I wanted to stay on the phone but it was like 25 degrees outside!

By the way, if you didn't hear... why in the world would the O's trade Tejada for Chris Burke and Adam Everett? Dumb...

Yeah, so Burke, Everett... why would the O's even think about that?

This is not going to happen.

Yeah, they're backing off of it a little bit. I was thinking about it afterwards, I should have given a shout out to MLBTR. Next time.

Yeah, Chris Burke and Adam Everett...that totally adds up to Jered Weaver and Brandon Wood.

Tejada - No trade clause? What?

He doesn't have one of those, does he?

Anyways... The players that these radio guys were naming before are obviously not correct.

Did any media people get the memo that the Baltimore Orioles are in a rebuilding stage? Going younger?

I have a feeling that the Orioles would be getting two younger, ML ready players back.

Bourn/Pence and a SP.

"I have a feeling that the Orioles would be getting two younger, ML ready players back.

Bourn/Pence and a SP."

No way in hell does Pence get traded for Tejada. Ed Wade's dumb, but he's not going to trade a good young cheap player, for an expensive declining player.

Pence hits better than Tejada does anyway.

And Oswalt won't be in the deal either.

Pence and Bourn will not be part of this deal.

It would make more sense if it were Burke or Everett, Scott and a pitcher not named Patton. maybe Backe and another youngster like Albers, if the O's throw in a lesser pitcher

The Astros need Patton and need a starter much worse than they need Tejada.

It would be a nice deal but unless Wade has a few deals on the back burner, starting is still a problem.

As to that poster questioning Wade's reasoning, it's been obvious from the get-go the Astros aren't interested in rebuilding. Wade wants to make his mark on the team and they want to re-load considering how weak the NL Central is, and rebuild when their farm system is built up a lot better.

Astro fans, I don't have a horse in this race but as a friend of mine from the south would say, that dog don't hunt. Unless you have a can't miss stud pitcher that is part of this deal, I don't see it.

If it really is Burke and Everett what in the world were the Orioles asking LA for then? Weaver or Wood by themselves are MUCH better than both Everett and Burke.

And I'm fine with Wade not wanting to rebuild. Unfortunately, the guy has no choice. I want to make a million bucks this year - that doesn't mean that I will. Just wanting something doesn't make it a reality.

The Astros are in deep trouble. They will only perpetuate that trouble by taking on a $13m contract for a declining player.

It would be really interesting if they blew up the team. Cleared out $30-40m in payroll and landed a ton of young talent. They could retool around Pence and look to put together a competitive team for 09/10.

Oh well. As Wade continues to build a contender, the Astros will post another 75 win season, have a payroll in excess of $90m, and still not have young, high upside, talent developing.

Unfortunately, the Astros system is so barren, rebuilding isn't really an option.

Also, the only players marketable enough to deal are Oswalt, Berkman and Lee. They won't get that much return for those three, at least not to build a contender as early as 09-10. More like 14.

Also, typical Cub fan with the steroid accusations. Could it occur to you that Tejada lost motivation playing on a last place team he regrets signing with?

Besides, your ole pal Sammy Soso didn't seem to slow down last year on a bad team, maybe he switched to HGH.

Also, the O's can have Wandy, he sucks. Can't pitch at all outside the Juice Box. I'd rather keep Patton in an instant over Wandy.

Why is everyone so down on Tejada? You guys act as if he's a terrible player now. I think a lot of people keep expecting him to put up numbers from 2004, which isn't gonna happen. That was simply just a career year.

In 2006 he had a .877 OPS, which is pretty good for a SS in the AL if you ask me. His OPS was only .799 last year, but he did miss 30 games, and before that injury, he also was playing through a leg injury where you could easily tell he was running the bases in pain. After coming back from his wrist injury people were saying how there was no way he power would return now, but it actually got better. In August and Semptember he hit a combined 11 HR.

As far as his fielding goes, somebody already mentioned it before. HE'S NOT A TERRIBLE OPTION AT SHORTSTOP! His defensive stats were better last year than Renteria and Jeter.

And at $13 million a year, in today's market, he's not a bad guy to have on your team. And I think a change of scenery will do him wonders. He's been getting a little lazy on the Orioles and I think losing is getting to him. Even though I am an Orioles fan, I do think his numbers will go up with a trade. I also don't think he's a salary dump. Believe me, the Orioles can afford him. Heck, they could probably get up to $120 million in payroll if they wanted and still have plenty of money. They're trying to get rid of him cause he doesn't want to be here anymore and our management (MacPhail) has realized that this organization needs a complete overhaul if they want to ever make the playoffs again. Glad someone like him has come in and brought some sense to the FO.

If the Orioles make this trade for Patton, Everett, and Burke, then I think that'd foreshadow a Brian Roberts to Chicago trade for Felix Pie and Sean Marshall. Seems odd that it appears that the O's will get more for Roberts, but peoples view of Tejada has really plummeted over the last year. But Everett is maybe the best defensive shortstop in baseball, maybe tied with John McDonald, but I don't think Burke will ever be a starter. Patton has decent potential to be a good starter fairly soon as well.
C- Hernandez
1B- Millar
2B- Burke
3B- Mora
SS- Everett
RF- Markakis
CF- Pie
LF- Payton
DH- Huff

Not too great, but if they move Bedard then you can add those guys to the lineup as well. Plus its not like the Orioles stand a chance in that division. Theres obviously the Yankees and Sox, and the Blue Jays are still a fantastic team, and the Rays have probably the most raw talent of any organization in baseball. And then there's Baltimore.

@XD23 - Angels overpaid for Hunter. No arguments from me. They gave the guy at least $15m too much ($3m/year).

As for Tejada - I don't get the feeling that people think the guys sucks. It's just for $13m AND the cost of a #3 starter + an A prospect Angel fans aren't ready to jump for joy on this deal. From the Astros perspective Tejada isn't a difference maker. Why lose MLB talent and increase your payroll for him?

As for Tejada's drop off I believe there is legitimate concern about what you will get in 08 as well as 09.

The guy is coming off his first injury. Isolated incident or a sign of things to come?

His OPS in 2004 was 894. It dropped to 864 a year later and in 2007 hit 799. By itself not a huge deal. However, overlay questions about his real age and steroid use and you see the makings of a potential disaster.

His fielding isn't awful but it continues to trend down. His attitude is rumored to be pretty poor, although a change of sceneries could change that.

Not a lot of shortstops get better with age. I think it's reasonable to assume that Miggy isn't getting better.

With all that said, are you willing to trade prospects AND take on $26m for a 3B who is likely to top out at .310 with 20-25 HR's (understanding that he could perform significantly worse than that if his trends continue)?

Seems like a pretty big risk to me.

Tejada is a perennial all-star. He still knocks the ball around and maintains an average right around .300 each season. His stock has not dropped as much as the media is leaking. The Orioles are still getting a lot of attention for him.

I think that its gotten to the point where Tejada may be underrated. Peopel are treating him like he's completely fallen off the cliff. He's had an off year but everyone has those. I mean he's still only 31. And at $13M a year, I don't think he's an awful buy. I mean, Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones are getting $18M/yr. His numbers didnt even drop significantly, and although his OPS last season was quite poor for someone of hit status, there is no reason to think he couldn't bounce back offensively, even if his defense is declining. I mean the guy didnt miss a game from 2000-2006, so you can at least depend on him to be on the field. I think that if the Astros got him for Everett, Burke and Patton, they would definately be a better team, even if they took a hit on defense.

CF Bourn
2B Matsui
RF Pence
LF Lee
1B Berkman
SS Tejada
3B Wigginton
C Ausmus/Towles

Thats a quite good batting order, and the 3-4-5-6 hitters would be fantastic in the NL Central. Their pitching would suck behind Oswalt though so they would be far from serious contenders though.

Tejada is underrated at times, and I am sure he doesn't have a no trade in his contract.