12-14-2003, 04:35 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Addict
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FINALLY! The O's Get Tejada!
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1686370
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Quote:
ESPN.com news services
NEW ORLEANS -- Trying to keep afloat in baseball's best division, the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday signed free agent shortstop Miguel Tejada.
ESPN.com's Peter Gammons reports that Tejada has agreed to a six-year $72 million contract with the Orioles.
"Miguel continues the tradition of great Orioles shortstops. The cornerstone of the Orioles through the years has been our shortstops, and he certainly fits in that mold," Orioles vice president Mike Flanagan told the Associated Press.
The Orioles still have more money to spend, and they have shown interest in free agents Vladimir Guerrero, Ivan Rodriguez and Javy Lopez.
"We have other players that are big players that we want to add to the club," executive vice president Jim Beattie said. "This is a signal - one of the things we can do to show players that the Orioles are ready to contend, hopefully quickly."
Tejada, 27, earned AL MVP honors in 2002 when he hit .308 with 34 home runs and 131 RBIs in 2002 to help the A's win 103 games and the AL West. But last year he slumped to a .278 average with 27 homers and 106 RBIs, striking out 65 times and drawing 53 walks.
"How many chances do you get to add an MVP-caliber player to your club who wants to be there for a long time?" new Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli said.
The Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers had also expressed interest in Tejada. But Baltimore saw him as a key to improving its lot in the AL East, where it has finished next-to-last for six consecutive years, trailing the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.
Boston and New York have each made major moves this winter, and the Blue Jays have made several smaller moves to improve their pitching.
"You can't play dumb to the surroundings of what's going on around you," Mazzilli said. "But we have to think about our team."
The Orioles finished with just 71 wins in 2003 and were 30 games behind the AL East Division champion New York Yankees and 24 games in back of the wild card winning Boston Red Sox -- another division rival. With Toronto and Tampa Bay also addressing key needs this offseason, Baltimore was in danger of falling to the bottom of baseball's deepest division.
Tejada made $5 million last season and $3.65 million in 2002.
Information from SportsTicker and the Associated Press was used in this report.
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