Rebuilding the Orioles - Parting with Miggy

This article was published on MLB.com in December 2007 to announce the trade of Miguel Tejada to the Astros, the first big step in Andy MacPhail's rebuilding of the Orioles.

BALTIMORE - The inevitability that's lingered over Baltimore for two years finally became a reality on Wednesday, when the Orioles traded former All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Astros for five players.
The Orioles acquired outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Troy Patton, Matt Albers and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Mike Costanzo from the Astros in a blockbuster deal designed to reshape the team's future.

"I don't think it's ever an easy thing to trade away a player of Miguel's stature," president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said. "It clearly signals a change."

That change stems less from who the Orioles added, and more from whom they dealt away. Tejada became the face of the franchise when he signed a six-year, $72 million contract before the 2004 season, but after two losing seasons, he made waves by publicly stating his desire for a trade.

Now, another two years later, the Orioles finally granted Tejada his wish.

"Miguel Tejada has been a Hall of Fame-caliber performer," MacPhail said. "It was a great signing with the Orioles. But with that said, the Orioles put on a good streak without him when he was injured. It's a team effort."

And now that team has a few more pieces. MacPhail said he hopes that Scott, 29, can help offset the loss of Tejada's offensive production by adding some pop to an outfield that lacked consistent punch last season. In his first season receiving regular playing time with the Astros, Scott hit .255 with 18 homers and 28 doubles, while logging time at every outfield position. The previous season, he hit .336 in limited playing time.

"We think Luke is kind of one of those undervalued assets," MacPhail said. "While we lost offense at short, he's certainly going to augment the offensive production we had at left field."

Scott's credentials aside, the crux of the trade was pitching. In Patton, 24, and Albers, 22, the Orioles acquired two arms with minimal Major League experience, but plenty of potential. Patton, a left-hander, went 0-2 with a 3.55 ERA in two starts and a relief appearance for the Astros last season, after beginning the season with Double-A Corpus Christi.

Albers stuck with the big club longer, compiling a 4-11 record and 5.86 ERA with the Astros in 18 starts and 13 relief appearances. A year earlier, he earned Texas League Pitcher of the Year honors with Corpus Christi after leading the league with 10 wins and a 2.17 ERA.

"The pitching help was essential," MacPhail said. "You can't have enough pitching."

The Orioles also received Sarfate, 26, a starting pitcher who's earned only brief bullpen cameos in parts of two seasons with the Astros and Brewers, and Costanzo, 24, a third-base prospect who came to Houston earlier this offseason in the deal that sent Brad Lidge to the Phillies.


But one name in the deal was a bit bigger than all the rest.

"Certainly the Astros got back a high caliber player in Miguel Tejada," MacPhail said. "Shortstops that can drive in 100 runs are not easy things to find."

The Orioles found one four years ago, but somehow, that dream transaction never lived up to its hype -- and whether that's Tejada's fault is no easy debate. There's no doubting that Tejada more than made good on the first two years of his contract, hitting a combined .309 with 60 homers. But the Orioles couldn't finish above third place during that span, sparking Tejada's admission two Decembers ago that "the best thing will be a change of scenery."

It didn't happen then, and while the rumors never fizzled, Tejada's production did. The next two seasons saw him hit only 42 home runs and in 2007 -- after a string of 1,152 consecutive games played -- he missed 29 games due to injury.

Rumors continued to fly this offseason that Tejada would finally be traded, and MacPhail spoke to him directly regarding the matter.

"He was clear and direct as to what he thought was in his best interest, and I think I was pretty clear about what the options might be," MacPhail said.

Tejada had two requests: to remain a shortstop, and to hook on with a contender. And MacPhail said that by trading with the Astros -- a team he identified as the most aggressive bidder -- he believes he fulfilled both of them.

The Orioles are left now with a relative surplus of pitching and a gaping hole at shortstop. While MacPhail said he's happy with the shortstops currently on his roster -- Luis Hernandez, Brandon Fahey and Freddie Bynum -- he does anticipate looking outside of the organization to plug that hole.

That could come as a result of trading ace starter Erik Bedard, or as a result of any number of unrelated transactions. The Orioles quite likely aren't done dealing, and even made another minor move Wednesday when they signed outfielder Tike Redman to a one-year contract to remain with the team.

For now, though, the Orioles will focus on adjusting to life with the face of their franchise gone. Trading a popular player is often an unpopular move, but MacPhail believes this deal could prove to be a shining exception.

"I think people have to ask themselves what they were holding onto," MacPhail said. "If you're serious about a change, you have to understand that you have to make a change. It's really that simple."