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2010 MLB Trade Deadline: Miguel Tejada Goes To The Padres

Baseball Share — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:08:40 +0000

The San Diego Padres have acquired veteran infielder Miguel Tejada in exchange for pitcher Wynn Pelzer.

Tejada has one year at $4.4 million dollars left on his contract, and both teams will pay $2.2 million.

Tejada is still considered an everyday starter, and he is expected to start at third base and shortstop for the Padres.

He is not having his best season, as he only has seven home runs and 39 RBIs, with an average of .269.

But it is definitely a nice addition to San Diego, as it adds a veteran presence around the young ball club. The Padres hope that Tejada to turn things around as he plays with a division leader and goes back to the National League.

Pelzer, who will now move to the O’s, is a Double A pitcher with a 4.20 ERA.

At the beginning of the season, baseball fans expected Adrian Gonzalez to be traded by this time. Instead, the Padres are trading for veterans as they make a playoff push.

Read more San Diego Padres news on BleacherReport.com

Padres Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Baseball Share — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:30:52 +0000

When the Padres first started talking about being a buyer as the trading deadline approached, the word was that they would seek an outfielder or another starting pitcher.

Then second baseman David Eckstein went on the disabled list July 21 with his second right calf strain in a span of three weeks.

Suddenly the Padres’ trade focus switched to the infield. If Eckstein were going to be lost for an extended period of time, or if his injury were to occur again, the Padres were really weak in the infield. Struggling shortstop Everth Cabrera has again slipped under .200. And with Eckstein out, the backup infielder is right-handed pinch hitter Oscar Salazar.

A club official said the Padres weren’t going to win the National League West with Cabrera at shortstop.

Salazar’s pinch-hit single lifts Padres, 3-2 (AP)

Baseball Share — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:18:25 +0000

The San Diego Padres are no longer a surprise to Joe Torre and the Los Angeles Dodgers. "We've been past that point, in my mind," Torre said after watching Oscar Salazar deliver a pinch-hit single with one out in the ninth inning to give the NL West-leading Padres a 3-2 victory over the Dodgers on Thursday to take two of three games.

Padres Make Puzzling Move, Acquire Miguel Tejada From Orioles

Baseball Share — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:13:31 +0000

There are moves I understand, like the Jorge Cantu trade we discussed earlier. But then are trades I really don’t understand like the one that happened between the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles.

The San Diego Padres acquired 3B Miguel Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles for minor league pitcher Wynn Pelzer (what an awesome name). The Orioles and Padres will split the remaining $2.2 million remaining on Tejada’s one-year deal.

I obviously get why the Orioles made the trade, but the Padres? Not so much.

I have Tejada on my fantasy team this year, so I know how useless he has been offensively. Tejada was hitting .269/.308/.362 with seven HRs and 16 doubles in 401 ABs for the Orioles. And those numbers were in a hitter’s ballpark.

How is Tejada going to fare playing in Petco Park, which is the death blow for mortal hitters? Not only is Tejada’s offensive most likely to suffer playing in San Diego, but he makes the Padres’ defense worse.

It’s expected that the Padres will move current 3B Chase Headley back to the outfield, where he played in 2008 and 2009 and keep Tejada at third. Headley in the outfield is not very good. Headley at third on the other hand, is very good.

Headley ranks third amongst all third basemen with a 7.9 UZR. Tejada is near the bottom with a -4.6 mark. Even if the Padres kept Headley at third and moved Tejada to short, I still don’t get the move.

Tejada is not even having a better year than current shortstop Jerry Hairston Jr., who is hitting .252/.308/.354 with seven HRs. Sound familiar?

Why give up your seventh-best prospect for a guy who can’t help your team at all? I don’t get it. Pelzer throws in the mid-90’s and could be the Orioles closer of the future.

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Read more San Diego Padres news on BleacherReport.com

Fantasy Baseball Trade Deadline Fallout: Padres Get Miguel Tejada

Baseball Share — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:08:18 +0000

According to MLB.com (click here for the article), the Padres have acquired Miguel Tejada and cash from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor league pitcher Wynn Pelzer.

The Padres Get
Tejada provides depth for the Padres at both third base and shortstop, though he may not see regular playing time. Chase Headley is the Padres’ third baseman, and unless they are going to move him back to the outfield, he should still see the majority of the time there. Of course, they are desperate for offense, so anything is possible. This actually appears the most likely scenario if they want to get Tejada’s bat in the lineup regularly.

Everth Cabrera sees the majority of the time at shortstop, so it’s possible Tejada plays a little bit there, assuming the team feels he can handle the position defensively. I guess for a game here and there, it’s not the end of the world, but he’s not a long-term solution there.

Offensively, Tejada has little pop at this point in his career and playing in Petco Park could eliminate it entirely. He is hitting .269, but is sporting a BABIP under .300 (.282). He hasn’t finished a year below .302 since 2003, so there certainly is some upside there. Still, on the Padres he’s not going to score many runs and may not drive in too many as well. I would consider him at 3B only in NL-only and the deepest of mixed leagues at this point.

The Orioles Get
Pelzer is currently at Double-A with a 4.20 ERA over 94.1 innings. However, prior to the season, Baseball America ranked him as the Padres seventh best prospect. They said that he has “a heavy 93-95 mph fastball that touches 97 in short stints” and that his “stuff would play up in a relief role, and it’s not hard to imagine him as a closer.”

At 24-years old, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Orioles transition him now and get him to the Majors in September. Keep an eye on him, as the Orioles do need a long-term solution at closer.

Additionally, the Orioles have recalled Josh Bell, who now should get regular playing time at third base. At Triple-A this season he’s hit .278 with 13 HR and 50 RBI in 316 AB. He’s gotten very limited playing time in the Majors, so you can ignore his numbers there. He’s been hot as of late (.381, 5 HR in his last 10 games,) and could be like catching lightning in a bottle for a few weeks. He has potential and could provide value in deeper formats if you are in need at third.

What are your thoughts on the deal? Will Tejada have value?

Make sure to check out our trade deadline analysis:

Keep checking www.rotoprofessor.com for all the fantasy fallout from the deadline deals as we cover the moves as they happen!

Read more San Diego Padres news on BleacherReport.com

Jeff Passan talks trade deadline, A-Rod’s 600th and Dr. Claw (Yahoo! Sports)

Baseball Share — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:22:53 +0000

Jay Busbee and I have had a number of interesting discussions with guests in the short-but-glorious history of…

Padres LF Blanks needs elbow surgery (AP)

Baseball Share — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:08:20 +0000

The San Diego Padres say left fielder Kyle Blanks will have reconstructive surgery on his right elbow, which could sideline him into next season. Surgery is scheduled for Friday. Blanks was placed on the disabled list May 20, retroactive to May 18, with a strained elbow. He was the opening day starter and was hitting .157 before the injury.

Giants-Brewers talks on Fielder and Hart dead (Yahoo! Sports)

Baseball Share — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:45:02 +0000

The San Francisco Giants lead the National League wild-card race and are only 2 1/2 games behind the San Diego…

Ethier’s pinch single lifts Dodgers to 2-0 win (AP)

Baseball Share — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:59:40 +0000

Andre Ethier was too sick to start in right field for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He felt good enough to pinch-hit, though. Ethier delivered a clutch two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning off Jon Garland to give the Dodgers a 2-0 win over the NL West-leading San Diego Padres on Tuesday night, the first of seven games between the division rivals in 10 days.

Another one! Garza joins crowd after throwing Rays’ first no-no (Yahoo! Sports)

Baseball Share — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:44:01 +0000

Ho hum . Another night, another chance to write a post about a pitcher throwing a no-hitter.