Hey Roch:
Jon Garland was just traded from the White Sox to the Angels for Orlando Cabrera... Have you any inside hearings on Tejada moving to LAA now???

Well here's some encouraging news:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071118&content_id=2303227&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

This is an article about this year's AFL & how each team did. The Phoenix Desert Dogs, whom all the O's prospects played for, won the Championship game this weekend. J. Arrieta & B. McCrory apparently stood out quite a bit in the league for their stellar pitching. This gets me excited for 2009-2010!

Now that the Angels have traded their starting shortstop, can we assume that Tejada is now #1 on their radar? If so, is it realistic to think that the Santana and Aybar deal is still on the table?

Looks like the Angels need a shortstop now. Any word on renewed Tijada discussions?

Since the Angels traded away Cabrera today, do you think they're now a good trade partner for Miggy? Clearly we won't get the same package they offered a few years ago, but we could still receive serviceable parts. Maybe Aybar and a minor league pitcher?

Hey Roch,

Now that the Angels have traded Orlando Cabrera, what are the chances the O's finally ship Tejada back out west?

Also, is there any truth to the "Hernandez to Mets" rumors?

Now that the Angels have traded Orlando Cabrera to the White Sox, does that open the door for the Orioles to trade Tejada to the Angels?

The Somewhere-in-southern-California-wish-it-were-hollywood-but-contracturally-we-have-to-say-Anaheim Angels just traded away their shortstop. Might they be looking at MT?

Roch,
What do you think about the Angels trading away Cabrera? Do you think that opens a slot for Tejada??

Roch,
With Orlando Cabrera being traded to the Angels for Jon Garland, does that possibly open the door for the Angels to explore Tejada in their infield? Or are they going to open that door for prospects such as Wood? Further, maybe this is the White Sox wanting to just spin off Cabrera to the O's in a deal for Tejada? Just thinking out loud and curious if you were thinking the same... take care

The better question is, "Why does all the good stuff happen to Roch!" I had to pay to talk to Blair in C-town. You lead a charmed life!

Roch,
Do we read anything into the Angels dealing Cabrera to the White Sox other than they are making room for Brandon Wood? Could Ramon Hernandez heading to the Mets?

Since it's Thanksgiving... many thanks to you for your blog!

Roch. Any thoughts on the Garland/Cabrera deal. When I first saw that I was dreaming-Dan Cabrera for Jon Garland..reality set in, it was OCab from the Angels..
I was surprised with the deal as the Halos lack offense and pitching seems to be their strength. Does this open up a Miggy deal to the Angels?
I presume we talked with the ChiSox before about a Tejada deal and obviously they weren't interested. I'd take Miggy over Cabrera as my SS but I'm sure others see it the other way. I know the RedSox weren't real thrilled with OCAb and dumped him in favour of Lugo(which was one of the few 'bad' moves they made in recent years).
I

We all know that the Orioles linked to steriods so far are Gibbons, Tejada, and Roberts. Can you imagine what would happen if all three were suspended for 2008? The O's could forget about ever getting anyone in trade for any of them. Plus, the lineup would look something like:

1. CF Tike Redman
2. 2B Freddie Bynum
3. 1B Kevin Millar
4. RF Nick Markakis
5. DH Aubrey Huff
6. 3B Melvin Mora
7. C Ramon Hernandez
8. LF Jay Payton
9. SS Luis Hernandez

That lineup would have an outside chance of condending--in AAA.

I hope they are using that quiet time at the Warehouse to figure out how they can make a trade with the Dodgers that will allow their franchise to win the World Series they expect under the Torre regime, and provide the quality MAJOR LEAGUE READY players this franchise so desperately needs.

The Dodgers have holes in the OF, 2B (even if Jeff Kemp comes back he is better suited to 1B), 3B, and REALLY need a quality left handed starter. They will probably fill the OF hole with Torii Hunter. They won the A Rod sweepstakes (they didn’t sign him), and they won’t fill all of their needs by trading for Miguel Cabrera since they will use most of their marketable players in such a trade.

We could offer them Tejada (just as good as Cabrera defensively and, when he wants to be, an RBI machine), Roberts, and Bedard for at least five of the following:

James Loney 1B
Andy LaRoche 3B
Tony Abreu 2B
Matt Kemp OF
Chad Billingsley RHP
Jonathan Broxton RHP
Clayton Kershaw LHP

We might be able to get a sixth name from that list if we added Bradford or Walker.

I would prefer to keep Bedard just as much as the next fan; however, this franchise needs to be honest with itself: His availability issues and lack of enthusiasm make it questionable that he will be a major contributor or even here beyond 2009. His trade value will become less each day, and teams will be reluctant to trade that quantity of talent during the season as it is harder to fill those spots.

Brian Roberts would be a big loss in the lineup and the community but his value will also only diminish from this point forward. I was one of the fans opposed to the trade with the Braves last winter because I thought he would be an irreplaceable part of the plan I THOUGHT our FO had in place. He is signed through 2009 and this team WILL NOT be WS material by then.

I realize that this trade would bring in young players for the positions that Billy Rowell and Brandon Snyder are projected for; however, with their health history and reasonable questions about being able to adequately field these positions, they should not be counted on. Besides, when was it ever a bad thing to have depth at more than position?

If Kemp is not part of the Dodgers deal we could try to get enough in the Hernandez and Mora trades to get Carl Crawford from Tampa. They have a surplus of OF prospects, and are ALWAYS looking for pitching. The Mets have a couple of pitchers that might interest them.

The last time this team made this kind of trade was in 1976 and it provided the missing pieces to a team that went to two World Series. If Andy Mac Phail REALLY has decision making authority, if the entire organization is going establish one PROPER way to learn how to play the game, and if Dave Trembley is going to require his players to behave in a professional manner then this trade would allow us to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox no later than 2010.

Since the Angels traded away Orlando Cabrera, does that open the door for the Orioles to trade Tejada and/or Mora to the Angels for a couple of prospects? I would imagine that both of those guys would demand considerably less in the way of prospects than Miguel Cabrera would. It would be great if we could somehow get Adenhart, Wood and a young catcher for those two.

l = luck in our favor?

Roch - do you think that the O. Cabrera-Garland deal between the Angels and the White Sox may be a precursor to Tejada being dealt to the Angels?

I can't see the Angels going into next year with Aybar or Wood at short - especially when they need more power in that lineup.

I know that one obstacle to Tejada going to LAA in the past was the fact that they had Cabrera at short. Well, now they don't.

v is for volleying Tejada to the West Coast for some high-level prospects.

Roch - with the Angels dealing Orlando Cabrera to the White Sox for Garland, what are the chances we'll be hearing about Miggy being dealt to LAA soon? The Angels have to have another move lined up, since they just dealt away their SS, won't get Arod or Lowell, and aren't likely to go with Wood and Aybar when they desperately want more offense. I'd have to guess they've lined up either a deal to bring in Miggy to play short, or Miguel Cabrera to play third, or both.

Roch,

Does the Angels trading Cabrera to the White Sox open up the possibility that they would be interested in Tejada at Short?

Understatement Dept.: "he struggled."
From Rotoworld:
"Free agent Victor Zambrano allowed one run over five innings Saturday in his debut for Magallanes of the VWL.
Zambrano is hoping a strong winter will put him in better position to claim a rotation spot next spring. He struggled while spending most of his first year back from Tommy John surgery pitching in the minors."

Well, the Sept 2007 O's were not far from AAA, I guess.

Roch, it seems like other teams aren’t keeping quiet because there’s a holiday this week. The White Sox and Anaheim just pulled off a big trade (Jon Garland for O. Cabrera), Mike Lowell and the Red Sox appear close to a deal, and Tom Glavine signed with the Braves. Just saying.

Tom D: I think the tag “top CF prospect” on Josh Anderson may be a bit of an overstatement. It seems the consensus on him is that he’s a fourth outfielder/bench type of player. The guy doesn’t seem like he’d be anyone’s choice to pencil in as a long-term regular centerfielder, though he seems to be a solid defender and is fast. He could be a solid major leaguer in a limited role (perhaps an inexpensive Corey Patterson type?). Villareal seems to be a decent young middle reliever who can put in a lot of innings. Of the two players, I think they could probably use someone like Villareal more—a decent young middle reliever (with the caveat that who knows how well he would pitch changing leagues—that often seems to not work). But you would think that either player, if available at a small cost, could help this team and would be inexpensive options. With the O’s, you have to wonder whether or not they were clueless as to their availability, or if they knew that both players could be had but looked at them and said no.

Does Cabrera being traded out of town open the door for Miguel to go to Anaheim?

Vick went to jail this afternoon. I predict 9 months + or -.

What does everyone think...now that that Angels have trade Cabrera to Chicago, you think they might be interested in Tejada? : - )

One more post about Tejada going to the Angels [since the Cabrera trade] and someone needs to yell out "BINGO!!!!"

CRB - Anderson would be a step up from Redman or Payton, who are looking more and more like our CF options next year - you can't teach speed and you can turn speed into a good offensive player a lot easier then braun - witness Vince Coleman.

My hope is that the O's knew about these guys and decided they were not "major league ready" enough.

My fear is they did not know. Maybe MacPhail did do the leg work for a dozen great trades at the GM meetings, but it appears other teams actually are making trades and signing free agents.

Waiting for the winter meetings to make moves is a relic from the 1990's. Teams that wait end up getting the scraps left over from other deals.

If this guy really has a plan you would think he would be moving on it.

There are 2 aspects of the steroid situation; players who have tested positive for "illegal substances" and players who were busted purchasing prescription drugs online, using scripts written by a "doctor" & purchased from a dubious supply house. It might have been hGH opposed to oxycontin but it doesn't matter to the feds.

I'm not pre- accusing anyone, the Mitchell Report will be out soon enough. I'm just hoping *not* to see certain names on there.

Never mind the lineup; WE NEED A CLOSER!

Say it Ain't so Sid!
Don't tell me that Sid Fernandez is on the Mitchell Report black list too. First Jason Grimsley, and now Big Sid. Who is next, Glenn Davis? Oh the horror...