The Baltimore Orioles - at least prior to the signing of Ramon Hernandez - are not exactly having the most productive offseason in the AL East. Closer BJ Ryan signed with Toronto, they lost out in the AJ Burnett lottery when he signed with Toronto, and then they declined arbitration for Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, BJ Surhoff, and Eli Marrero. Basically, it looks like the O's are headed into a rebuilding year, and shortstop Miguel Tejada wants nothing to do with it. Prior to reports being released that Baltimore had signed Hernandez, Tejada was quoting as saying, "I've been with the Orioles for two years and things haven't gone in the direction that we were expecting, so I think the best thing will be a change of scenery." The Orioles are lamenting the lack of pitching talent available on the market (which, it seems to me, is their own fault, as several other teams are stacked in the pitching ranks), but one would think that they could get a decent pitcher or two if they traded Tejada. And, in fact, considering the market value for an All-Star shortstop who is also a consistent RBI man, I could see plenty of teams being interested in a player of Tejada's caliber with four years left on a contract averaging $12 million a year. Hmmm....

» Tejada says he wants to be traded [mlb.com]

11:46 AM | (0)
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