A bit of strange news caught me off guard last night while watching ESPN. Buster Olney reported the Orioles placed shortstop Miguel Tejada on waivers and the White Sox picked him up. The two teams couldn’t reach a deal, however, so Tejada is going back to Baltimore.
Obviously, anyone who the White Sox traded from their 40 man roster would also have to clear waivers for the deal to go through, and the Sox only don’t have too many valuable players not on that list. I’ll assume the talks began and ended with the names Gio Gonzalez and Jack Egbert, and either Baltimore wanted more then that, or the Sox wouldn’t part with either of those two young pitchers. Don’t be surprised, however, if Tejada to the Sox rumors heat up again in the offseason.
Would the Sox really want Tejada? He would be a huge offensive upgrade over Juan Uribe, but he does have some negatives. At 31, Tejada has two years left on his contract, both over $13 million a season. He's also not a great defensive player. If the Sox were to acquire him, I’m sure Kenny Williams would make the O’s eat some of that contract, the same way the Phillies did for Jim Thome. If Baltimore would do that, Tejada would be a welcome addition to the South Side. While he may not be one of the two or three best shortstops in the league anymore, Tejada can still hit anywhere from 2-5 in a lineup and is generally good for .300/25. When you compare that with what current shortstop Juan Uribe is good for, roughly .210/15, that could mean a few more wins for the Sox. More importantly, Williams even placing a bid on Tejada shows that the Sox won’t be rebuilding next year.
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Comments
"More importantly, Williams even placing a bid on Tejada shows that the Sox won’t be rebuilding next year. "
Maybe that's what Kenny Williams wants you to think. This could of been done just to block another AL central team from acquiring him.
Possibly Michael, but Kenny has said all along that they aren't looking to scrap the team for young guys. there pitchng is too good to do that. But blocking Detroit or Cleveland from picking up Tejada might have been why they placed a bid on him.
gonzalez and egbert are the untouchables now? please
McCarthy, Broadway, Borchard, Anderson- we've been down this road before - enough of 'we can't trade our best prospects'
Tejada is bona fide, and at $13 a bargain for what he brings offensively, especially since Juan has checked out for the year.
Putting Uribe next to Richar and Owens in the lineupe makes life real easy for the opposing dugout.
Stupid to not make this move
Well obviously i don't know if the Sox refused a deal for Gio and Egbert, thats just what i'm assuming since those are their two most valuable players not on the 40 man roster. It could just be, as mike pointed out earlier, that Kenny was just blocking a move so a time like the Tigers couldn't pick him up. I like Tejada, but 113 mil definitly isn't a bargain. One thing is for sure though, Uribe cannot be on this team next year.
Reload, not rebuild. Haha.
And after the Tigers sweep, I still have a solid 1% faith in this season.