Post a Comment. Pending the results of his physical, Miguel Tejada will be rejoining the Orioles as their starting 3B. Speaking with Roch Kobatko , MacPhail said: We would hope that next corner infielder we could add is a solid hitter.
But there isn't a multitude of those power guys in the game, and I think the game is shifting a little bit away from the gaudy power numbers that were put up 10 years ago that we were used to seeing. The game is starting to shift and you can see, rightfully so, clubs starting to put emphasis on defense. There are also durability issues with Joe over the course of his career, and not so much with Miguel, who's had over plate appearances in all but one season in recent memory.
It seemed somewhat obvious then what the Orioles preference was and that they hoped Tejada could take to the new position. After the jump, thoughts on Tejada switching to third, his hitting, and the new projected win total. Tejada will be learning a new position this year. He has not logged a single game at third base in the Majors during a career that has spanned games or His transition to the hot corner will be interesting as what has plagued him most as he has aged has been the reduction in his range.
His hands and his arm still look sharp, the range has been the issue. Having not seen him much in Houston, I am not sure what is hurting that range. If it is just a decrease in speed as was apparent in Baltimore or a decrease in reaction time as well. The latter will have the most effect on him at third. We may see something similar to Melvin Mora where he actually played a few steps back to give himself more time to react to batted balls. Thankfully, no one really bunts anymore because Mora was often not in a position to field them well.
Tejada might find himself in a similar place. I think we can probably expect something in the -5 to 0 runs above average defense from him at third. That might be slightly optimistic. It really all depends on his response time. I think his throwing motion is compact enough to not make that an issue.
