Astros' fears may have stopped Tejada deal Ken Rosenthal / FOXSports.com Posted: 5 minutes ago The Astros are out of the Miguel Tejada sweepstakes. "It's over," an Astros official told FOXSports.com Sunday night. "We told them we're not dealing with them anymore." The Astros' frustration apparently stemmed from their belief that they had a Tejada blockbuster in place Friday night, only to have that deal and later proposals quashed by Orioles owner Peter Angelos. But there may have been another issue. The Astros, according to a major-league official with knowledge of the discussions, feared that the Orioles would flip their most prized acquisition for Tejada — Astros right-hander Roy Oswalt — to Houston's cross-state rival, the Texas Rangers. The Orioles, according to the official, intended to trade Oswalt to the Rangers for a package of three players — third baseman Hank Blalock, Triple-A shortstop Joaquin Arias and one of the Rangers' top pitching prospects. They also would have ended up with two other players from the Astros — third baseman Morgan Ensberg and shortstop Adam Everett — effectively making the deal a 5-for-1 for Tejada. Presumably, the Orioles then would have spun one of the third basemen, Blalock or Ensberg, or shifted one of them to first, while moving their current third baseman, Melvin Mora, to the outfield. For the Astros, losing Oswalt to the Rangers would have been a public-relations nightmare, evoking memories of when Nolan Ryan went from Houston to Texas. The Astros had similar concerns when Roger Clemens was courted by the Rangers as a free agent last spring. The Orioles still have a chance to make a similar deal with the Rangers by substituting Tejada for Oswalt, the official says. But barring an unexpected twist, that might be their only chance to complete a Tejada blockbuster. The Angels, who offered the Orioles a package of right-hander Ervin Santana and Triple-A shortstop Erick Aybar for Tejada, also have pulled out of the Tejada discussions, the official says. The Dodgers are not actively pursuing Tejada, other sources say. Ken Rosenthal is FOXSports.com's senior baseball writer.
What a bunch of unprofessional clowns in Baltimore. Glad we're not dealing with them here. I'd rather have Roy Oswalt and Ensberg.
i agree with you about them being unprofessional I would never do a Endsberg, Evrett, for Tejada! NEVER EVER but after i read this article i don't feel that we will get any deal done that will help us emencely before the deadline
Why in the HELL was Oswalt "allegedly" involved in ANY trade talks for Tejada? That's wack! Thank Baby Jesus this deal didn't go down if true!
If Puppy Dog T proposed this oswalt thing, then he needs to be fired. If he thought about it for two seconds before hanging up the phone, he needs to be fired. If Roy's name even entered his mind at all this weekend (not in reference to starting the other day) then he needs to be fired. Roy, Lance, Roger . . . come on . . . untouchable.
If this is true, Purpura should be ashamed of himself. Oswalt and Berkman are as off limits as it gets.
I cannot believe that the 'Stros were even entertaining the idea of dealing Oswalt for Tejada (not to mention with Ensberg and Everett). It would have been a PR nightmare whether he got traded to the Rangers or not. This team may be in need of a bat, but to sacrifice one of two reliable starters for it is insane!
Stark's most recent report on Tejada had the Stros proposing Oswalt, Berkman, and Lidge. riiiiiiight... no way they were gonna try that. wtf is stark thinking believing it?
not only a reliable starter but one of the best pitchers in baseball. you just don't trade that away.
did stark really report berkman and oswalt? obviously someone's f$#king with him. both of those guys are better alone then tejada.
If that had actually been proposed (and not just in Baltimore's dreams) I would've shown up at Minute Maid's front office with the torches and pitchforks and waited for the mob to form. And the fact that Baltimore actually said no (if that was an offer) shows what kind of moronic front office the O's have.
WTF! Are the Astros looking to cut payroll? http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2522380 3 Miguel Tejada, Orioles SS 2 MARKET REPORT By late Sunday night, the Orioles had next to nothing in the works for Tejada. But if they don't trade him, it won't be because they didn't have some fascinating names thrown at them. Teams that have spoken with them say they actually discussed Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman and Brad Lidge with the Astros, for instance. Oswalt apparently would have been viewed as the centerpiece of that deal. But because he was a year away from free agency, the Orioles then tried shopping him around to see if he (and possibly Lidge) could be spun into an even younger, bigger package. Meanwhile, other teams are still stunned that the Orioles so quickly rejected the Angels' proposal of Ervin Santana and shortstop prospect Erick Aybar. "That's the kind of deal," said an official of one team, "where you wake up in the middle of winter and say to yourself, 'What the heck was I thinking?' " The Orioles also shot down a Dodgers proposal of Cesar Izturis and prospects. And they discussed a slew of names, big and small, with the Rangers. As the deadline loomed, only Texas was still actively trying to put some kind of deal together -- but was looking for a third club to get the pieces in place the Orioles wanted. So the chances of Tejada changing his address may not have dwindled to zero. But at this point, they're certainly in single digits. 4 Brad Lidge, Astros CL -- MARKET REPORT Lidge gave up a game-losing home run Sunday afternoon. Within the next 90 minutes, a bunch of teams had already called the Astros, wondering if they were ready to move their slumping closer. Well, from all accounts, the 'Stros have given that question some serious thought. But the honest truth is, even the Houston brass itself no longer appears certain what to do to turn this guy back into The Real Brad Lidge. On one hand, the Astros see a pitcher with spectacular stuff, just four blown saves and 67 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings. On the other hand, they see a pitcher with a 5.77 ERA who has given up seven devastating gopher balls already (two more than all last season) and whose confidence is shaky enough to register on the Richter Scale. So do the Astros trade this man -- with his value at an all-time low? Or do they try to keep him and get him straightened out, assuming that's still possible if he stays in Houston? Clubs that checked in reported the Astros were definitely listening, but needed a compelling reason to make a deal. And so far, they haven't heard one. They turned down Texas' offer of Brad Wilkerson and Rod Barajas for Lidge. They didn't seem particularly interested in swapping Lidge for Hank Blalock, either. They've also had calls from the Orioles and Red Sox. But they eventually told all those teams there was nothing there worth pursuing. So there may well be more Lidge rumors as the Deadline Clock ticks down. But the best guess is, the Astros will decide there's more upside in getting Lidge fixed than there would be in changing his area code.
Not considering that Oswalt is planning on leaving as a free agent after next season. I would love to keep him too, but the indications up to this point are that he wants to leave.