Tejada Signing Gives Orioles Legitimacy

The Orioles are striving to make themselves a contender in the American League East as soon as possible. The Orioles just finalized the deal with Miguel Tejada after he passed his physical. The deal was finalized as one year for $6 million with possible incentives for reaching 630 plate appearances and the Orioles will pay him $150,000 if they decide to trade him.

This is a great deal for the Orioles and also a steal. Miguel can still hit .300 or better and hit possibly 20 home runs and have 100 RBI's. This is even more true while hitting in the hitter friendly park of Camden Yards. Another reason the Orioles got Miguel so cheap is because of resent scrutiny he has been under. The contract that Miguel got from the Orioles in 2004 was for six years and $72 million. Considering this gives him over ten million dollars a year and his productivity has not dropped off the last two seasons in Houston, this would be considered a great contract. Miguel made the all star team each of the previous two seasons in Houston.

Another huge positive about this deal is that it is only for one year. The Orioles have no long term commitment to Miguel and this allows them to bring up future star Josh Bell to play third after one more year in the minors. This will make the lineup even better. With the weapons that are surrounding Miguel, he will produce a lot of runs. The Orioles have a real opportunity this year and it will all depend on if the young pitching comes through.

Some people think that Miguel has too much extra baggage to come back to Baltimore. I do agree that he has made some mistakes but I think that he has taken care of the problem and will be a much better citizen. While the Orioles and Miguel were in initial talks, the earthquake in Haiti struck the world. The talks were stalled because Miguel went to Haiti to try to help. It appears that Miguel has learned from his mistakes and he deserves a second chance.