O's Done With Tejada

I was going to write a lot of stuff this morning about how admirable it was for Erik Bedard to again battle through for a win even when he didn't have his best stuff. or I was going to write about how I like Dave Trambley's no nonsense approach to building an effective bullpen. Or maybe I was just going to write that I'll take 3-3 over the last six games given some of the tough competition the O's have coming up.

But the report from ESPN (and strangely nowhere to be found in the Baltimore Sun...yet) is that the O's tried to pass Miguel Tejada through waivers with the intention of trading him has grabbed my attention and now I can write of nothing else until I address this.

It was nearly impossible for Baltimore to trade Miggy before the deadline, being that he was injured and all and apparently only because they couldn't work out an acceptable deal with the White Sox is the only reason Tejada is still in the black and orange. The team says he will remain with the team for the rest of the year so, for now, it's a non-story except for one point. The Miguel Tejada era seems to be over.

For the first time, the O's have shown true interest in trying to trade Tejada and there is now obvious interest in the marketplace for him. Miggy is not the player he once was but how many teams out there would love to have a shortstop that can hit .300 with 15-20 HR pop left in his bat. That a nice upgrade for 75% of the teams in the league. Expcect Tejada to be somewhere else come Opening Day 2008.

The more interesting prospect is who will replace him. Luis Hernandez looks to be much better than Tejada with the glove at this point but will be a huge dropoff in offense (even though he has shown he can handle a bat at the major league level). Will Brandon Fahey be handed the job? Many in the organization seem to love the guy. Will it be addressed through free agency?

Lots to watch in Andy McPhail's first offseason, that's for sure.