He's back! Tejada signs 1-yr deal.

[crawjo]

I still see Pie getting his fair share of at bats. An injury to any one of Markakis, Jones, Reimold, Scott, Atkins, Tejada or Izturis likely puts Pie back in the lineup. If the Atkins experiment fails, likewise, Pie will probably pick up a healthy chunk of at-bats. One way or another, he will find playing time. This is why good teams have strong benches heading into the season, because things never work out the way you plan them to on paper.

[Lucky Jim]

I still see Pie getting his fair share of at bats. An injury to any one of Markakis, Jones, Reimold, Scott, Atkins, Tejada or Izturis likely puts Pie back in the lineup. If the Atkins experiment fails, likewise, Pie will probably pick up a healthy chunk of at-bats. One way or another, he will find playing time. This is why good teams have strong benches heading into the season, because things never work out the way you plan them to on paper.

I think this is right. We can bemoan the fact that right now it looks like Pie doesn't get a lot of ABs. But that's only if health and Atkins' bounce-back occur. I don't think MacPhail thinks it particularly likely that everything will go right. So, while Pie's role doesn't look set yet, it's almost an inevitability that he'll get serious ABs.

[Sanfran327]

It's formidable all the way through, but right now there's no one with probable huge (30+ HR or .900+ OPS) upside. It's got good consistency, though. And, frankly, there are some long-shot candidates for power or OPS spikes. It could happen with Reimold, Markakis, Wieters, or Jones. Any of those guys (or more than one) could be a .900+ or 30+ HR guy next year.

Probably no huge bat in 2010... you're right. Hopefully by 2011, Reimold or Wieters develops into that guy for us. Then again, either one could surprise us this season.

But, like you said before, there is TONS of doubles power on this team. And four to six guys that can hit 20 HRs, a few that may be good for 25, and one or two with the potential to hit 30.

As I said before, if we can learn to take a walk up and down the order, this team will score a lot of runs, with or without the big bopper.

[BillySmith]

Per a Heyman twitter over at mlbtraderumors.

http://twitter.com/SI_JonHeyman/status/8120123629

[waroriole]

Outstanding. Hopefully, he's used properly and welcome back Miggy.:clap3:

[SoBo]

I guess it is about wins and losses after all. Assuming a Bedard signing, this team should push for .500. The optimist in me says we could be playing meaningful games in September.

[olehippi]

Scott should be traded ASAP.

Put Atkins at 1st, Miggy at 3rd, and rotate the 4 outfielders amongst DH.

Why....why....why...does everyone ASSUME the Tejada can handle playing 3B, especially when HE HAS NEVER PLAYED THERE BEFORE? !!!

If the Orioles had already decided to go this direction, I would have rather they signed someone like LaRoche or Blalock to play 1B and just put Atkins at 3B.

This move is a leap of faith without logic IMO.

[Lucky Jim]

Why....why....why...does everyone ASSUME the Tejada can handle playing 3B, especially when HE HAS NEVER PLAYED THERE BEFORE? !!!

If the Orioles had already decided to go this direction, I would have rather they signed someone like LaRoche or Blalock to play 1B and just put Atkins at 3B.

This move is a leap of faith without logic IMO.

I'll admit that my belief that Tejada can play 3rd is based on gut. I could definitely be wrong. On the other hand, my guess is the O's are going on significant amounts of scouting and tape, not my gut.

[AgentOrange]

Why....why....why...does everyone ASSUME the Tejada can handle playing 3B, especially when HE HAS NEVER PLAYED THERE BEFORE? !!!

If the Orioles had already decided to go this direction, I would have rather they signed someone like LaRoche or Blalock to play 1B and just put Atkins at 3B.

This move is a leap of faith without logic IMO.

It is pretty well known that Tejada is going to play third. There is no assuming. Even Atkins said he was told they were bringing him on to play first when he signed.

[Lucky Jim]

Why....why....why...does everyone ASSUME the Tejada can handle playing 3B, especially when HE HAS NEVER PLAYED THERE BEFORE? !!!

If the Orioles had already decided to go this direction, I would have rather they signed someone like LaRoche or Blalock to play 1B and just put Atkins at 3B.

This move is a leap of faith without logic IMO.

Why would you assume he'll be worse than Atkins - who's a sub-par defender at 3rd? Even if it's not a seamless transition, you don't seriously think that Tejada is physically incapable of playing 3rd, do you?

[Orioles4Life21]

Is it April yet?

[JTrea81]

Why would you assume he'll be worse than Atkins - who's a sub-par defender at 3rd? Even if it's not a seamless transition, you don't seriously think that Tejada is physically incapable of playing 3rd, do you?

Well he's never played the position. And Juan Samuel is going to be his teacher per Roch...

[ShaneDawg85]

Given the options that were available, Tejada was the best one to get. Even if his performance slides, he's still a better option than Joe Crede. If his performance is still up to par we might be able to flip him to a contender looking for some offensive help. On a one year deal, it's a gamble worth taking.

Defensively it's going to take some time for him to adjust to third. We should prepare ourselves for some ugly moments, because in the beginning it is going to happen. I'm interested to see how Tejada's personality is the second go around. If he's struggling defensively, how does he respond to it? Is he more excited and energetic now that the team is younger, and on the whole, more talented than the one he played on last? My hope is that having a young outfield and raw, but talented pitching staff helps keeps him motivated.

I've raised my concerns about his offensive performance several times, specifically the declining OPS going back to 2004, and the fact that the home run portion of his power has dropped off quite a bit. I still have those concerns, but because it's on a one year deal, I'm not as concerned about it. I still expect the doubles to be there, and adding him with Roberts & Markakis has the potential to be something else in that department. His offensive value is definitely worth more at short than it is at third, but again, because it is a one year deal, I'm not as worried about it.

The other thing that we've touched on is this should help improve the bench a bit. Wigginton gets to go back to the bat off the bench and utility guy that he was meant to be when we signed him. I think part of his struggles last year was because he had to play more early in the season due to injuries and the season long struggles of Huff, which made him overexposed as a hitter. I'm worried about Pie and his playing time with Atkins going to first, but I was worried about that anyway because I'm skeptical Trembley will actually use him.

The last thing this signing reinforces is that, barring injury, really rubbing people the wrong way, or a collapse in his performance, Josh Bell will be with the Orioles very soon, and is, as it looks, the third baseman of the future.

[tvz1997]

Well he's never played the position. And Juan Samuel is going to be his teacher per Roch...

People keep saying this, but he has played third before, just not in MLB. He played third for the Dominican team in the WBC and I'm pretty sure he played it in winter league.

[Lucky Jim]

Well he's never played the position. And Juan Samuel is going to be his teacher per Roch...

I'm not saying it will definitely work. I think it will, and have long thought that Tejada had the skill set to make a decent 3B. But I'm curious about why we'd think someone who was at least a legitimate MLB SS would be unable to play 3B. I mean, he's certainly got the arm.