Tejada not the right move

mlblogshalofever — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:47:21 +0000

Now that Miguel Cabrera is gone, I have a bad feeling that the Angels are going to make a move that they might regret. The Angels have said time and time again that they are willing to explore any option that makes the team better. I don’t think the so called "Plan B" (Miguel Tejada) is a move that makes the team better if they have to give up certain young talent, particularly Howie Kendrick or Brandon Wood. I’m not totally against Tejada, I just think that the Angels should be VERY conservative if they choose to pursue him. Trading away the future of the organization for an aging player with decreasing power numbers is not acceptable. Although Brandon Wood has not really proven himself at the major league level yet I think it is clear that Howie Kendrick is a very special player both in performance and attitude, clearly a future star. We don’t know how long it will be before Wood gets his shot as a full time player but what Kendrick has shown is incredible, although he will not be hitting 30+ home runs this year, he can definitely have a game changing impact on this offense.

I think that if the Angels do pursue anyone at this point the only players that should be considered in a trade would be Reggie Willits or Ervin Santana. Although Willits is a fan favorite and a very hard working player (reminds me of Erstad) there are some problems with keeping him. His stock may be higher now than it will ever be in the future, and with a surplus in the outfield I don’t think he will have enough playing time to do anything like he did last year. Ervin Santana is the opposite, his stock is not anywhere close to what it was a year ago, but teams may still see potential in him and I don’t see where he fits in to the Angels team other than the bull-pen.

In the search for more offense lets consider a few things that I have not heard mentioned of late. One of the most productive players in the Major League last year was Garret Anderson (when he was healthy). While I don’t think that the Angels should rely heavily on him staying healthy, he definitely has the potential to provide the "big bat" if he does. The flip-side to that coin is Juan Rivera. If Garret Anderson continues his trend of injury plagued seasons, Juan Rivera is a more than capable DH that can change a game with one swing of the bat.

These are my opinions, I’m sure there are things I have not considered or overlooked. I value your feed back (positive and negative). Please let me know what you think.

Halo Fever

Tejada not the right move