Richard Justice appears to be wavering on the Adam Everett campaign...
Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman is reporting that the Astros and Giants are among the team that have expressed an interest in Miguel Tejada. He wrote that the Orioles probably would like to have Michael Bourn, Adam Everett and prospects.
Tejada? Amazing!
I think Bourn's going to be the next Preston Wilson on the downslide, and giving up Anderson to get him was a huge mistake. But at least we're discarding Preston Wilson, Jr. before he reeks at the plate.
In previous conversations, the Orioles have asked for so much that trade talks went nowhere. This time could be different because Andy MacPhail is now running things in Baltimore. Nevertheless, Tejada isn't going to come cheap.
But he'll want to deal him anyway, so he's not going to be too expensive, either.
Everett, on the other hand, was way, way overpriced. Same with Lidge. There's going to be a bit of room there now that Bagwell's $7 million isn't a factor, and Qualls closing is much cheaper than Lidge closing.
He would dramatically upgrade the Astros at shortstop, but he comes with warning labels. His power numbers have declined dramatically in recent years, and he has been linked to steroids through Raffy Palmeiro.
A waning Tejada is better than a surging Everett on any day. I'm glad that Justice finally recognizes that Everett's not Mister Perfect at the plate or on the field.
As far as I know, he has never tested positive for anything, and there's no way of knowing if he'll be named in the Mitchell report. My guess is this deal can't be done because the Astros have so few attractive prospects. If the Orioles would do it for Luke Scott, Chris Burke and Adam Everett, it would be a slam dunk. If they insist on Hunter Pence, Troy Patton or Juan Gutierrez, I'd tell them no thanks.
Ditching Burke has got to be Priority Number One, because with Matsui in the hopper, Burke's morale has got to be in the shitter whether he shows it or not.
Must suck being paid a million dollars a year to wait a year and another... waiting for the old man to retire, only to find someone getting offered five million to do it right.
Oh well. He was toast in Spring. Even if Purpura didn't see it, glad that Wade looked back and appears to be taking absolutely no chances.
By the way, Jennings wasn't offered arbitration.
Good riddance to rubbish, I hope.