The Orioles received five players in the offseason trade that sent shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros. Three of the players in the deal made contributions in the major leagues this season and there’s potential for a bigger payoff in the future.

Left fielder Luke Scott is hitting .264 with 23 home runs and 62 RBIs in 142 games for the Orioles. Relief pitchers Matt Albers and Dennis Sarfate showed flashes of potential before both were injured. Albers was 3-3 with a 3.49 ERA in 28 games before suffering a shoulder injury. Sarfate was 4-3 with a 4.74 ERA in 57 games. He had 86 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings.

The trade could become more valuable for the Orioles if pitching prospect Troy Patton is able to successfully return from a torn labrum. Mike Costanzo, the fifth player in the deal, hit .261 with 11 home runs and 63 RBIs in 129 games for the Norfolk Tides.

What the Orioles failed to find this season was a replacement for Tejada.

Luis Hernandez couldn’t capitalize on his opportunity to replace Tejada and the 24-year-old shortstop was eventually demoted to Norfolk. Hernandez batted .241 in 36 games with the Orioles. After being sent down, he hit .185 in 57 games for the Tides. Hernandez has a .245 batting average in seven minor league seasons, so it’s pretty clear that he’s not a long-term solution.

The Orioles have also used Juan Castro, Freddie Bynum, Alex Cintron, Brandon Fahey and Eider Torres at shortstop this season. None of them had much success at the position in 2008. Melvin Mora and Oscar Salazar both played an inning there, but they were just filling the spot when needed.

By using so many different players at shortstop this year, the Orioles obviously have already exhausted their available options in Triple-A. There are a few promising prospects in the organization, as you’ll see below, but they are all likely a couple years away -- at the earliest.

Bowie Baysox shortstop Blake Davis was the best in the Orioles’ minor league system this season, in my opinion. The 24-year-old infielder only batted .185 in April, but he rebounded to finish the year with a .284 batting average. He hit .367 (36-for-98) in the final month of the regular season.

The most intriguing player in the organization -- at any position, in my opinion -- is Greg Miclat. He was 2-for-4 in one game for the Gulf Coast League Orioles before being promoted to the Aberdeen IronBirds. The 21-year-old shortstop hit .291 with six RBIs, three stolen bases and nine runs scored in 16 games for the IronBirds.

Miclat’s biggest flaw is his lack of power. He didn’t have any home runs in three seasons at the University of Virginia before the Orioles selected him in the fifth round of this year’s draft. I’m not sure how much power he’ll develop, but Miclat is extremely fast. He had 91 stolen bases in 168 games at Virginia.

I know there are other players who could switch positions in the future, including Delmarva Shorebirds third baseman Tyler Henson, but here is my list of the best shortstops in the organization in 2008:

1. Blake Davis
2. Greg Miclat
3. Garabez Rosa
4. Jedidiah Stephen
5. Rodolfo Cardona

The Orioles should let Davis show what he can do as the starting shortstop at Norfolk in 2009. Davis will need to prove that he’s defensively capable of playing in the major leagues because he’s had at least 17 errors in each of his three professional seasons. He should be on his way to the majors if he’s able to play well for the Tides.

I watched Miclat play several times at Aberdeen this year and the 5-foot-9, 175-pound shortstop has a lot of similar qualities to Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts. Miclat, who is a switch-hitter, was able to effectively hit into the gaps on several occasions. He didn’t get much professional experience this season, so it will be interesting to see how he performs in 2009.

Rosa has a lot of potential and he’s still young enough that the Orioles can patiently march him through the organization. The 18-year-old shortstop hit .330 with four home runs, 29 RBIs and 24 runs scored in 49 games for the GCL Orioles before being promoted to Aberdeen. He was 5-for-20 with 11 strikeouts in six games for the IronBirds.

Rosa hit .283 with 17 RBIs and 30 runs scored in 56 games in the Dominican Summer League in 2007. His defense needs a lot of work, however, because Rosa has committed 49 errors in 103 games in his professional career.

Stephen started the season with the IronBirds. He batted .243 with eight home runs, 29 RBIs and 24 runs scored before being promoted to Delmarva. The 24-year-old shortstop was 1-for-25 with 13 strikeouts for the Shorebirds.

Cardona played well for the Bluefield Orioles in 2008. The 21-year-old infielder batted .283 with 10 doubles, three home runs, 28 RBIs and 25 runs scored in 49 games.

Cardona split time between shortstop and second base for Bluefield. I included him in this set of rankings because he played more games at shortstop and there really aren’t that many other candidates, in my opinion, to create a list of five.

Your thoughts?