Dearly Departed: Orioles Trade Tejada

On Wednesday, the Baltimore Orioles traded Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros. As reciprocation, the Orioles received pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton, and Dennis Sarfate, outfielder Luke Scott, and minor league third baseman Michael Costanzo. “That's one of the concepts behind, in this position, obtaining five players in exchange for one,” said Orioles General Manager Andy MacPhail. “Nobody knows for certain how these young players are going to evolve, but if you get five you start playing the percentages, quite honestly.”

During his career, Tejada has batted .287 with 258 home runs and 1,033 runs batted in. In 2007, he scraped .281 with 18 home runs and 81 runs batted in. “I feel very happy with this trade, because it's something that I've been really looking forward to,” Tejada said.

Once, Javier Lopez, Sammy Sosa, and Tejada epitomized Baltimore’s resurrection. Today, Lopez is unsigned. Sosa is irrelevant. Tejada has exited. Concerning the Orioles, this screams volumes. Concerning the departed, the screams are louder.