[No-Rest-Kenny]
While the Cubs, Angels, Red Sox and possibly White Sox covet Tejada, the Orioles rarely have completed blockbuster trades under owner Peter Angelos, the exception being last winter's Sammy Sosa deal that was little more than a salary dump by the Cubs.
For Tejada, the Orioles' asking price might be prohibitive. They rightly view Tejada as one of the game's biggest stars, a player who might command a $90 million deal if he were a free agent this off-season. They aren't interested in a four-for-one deal that combines overpaid veterans and unproven youngsters. They want players comparable to Tejada -- Manny Ramirez, Mark Prior, etc. And Ramirez alone won't be enough.
It sounds to me like the only way the Sox get Tejada is by including Buehrle instead of Garland. That's just not going to happen. I think our ceiling on an offer is someing along the lines of Garland + Uribe + Sweeney, or something similar.
What kind of deal would the White Sox want to make for right-hander Jon Garland? Probably one similar to the Marlins' trade of outfielder Juan Pierre, in which the team acquired three young pitchers from the Cubs. The White Sox's farm system is thin at the upper levels after sending left-handers Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood to the Phillies in the Jim Thome trade. The Orioles, Rangers and Mariners -- all teams interested in free-agent right-hander Kevin Millwood -- would figure to be in the mix for Garland.
Looks like the M's got Jarrod Washburn
at 4yrs/$38M. Ick. That probably removes them from the Garland bidding.
I was underwhelmed by the package that the Cubs gave the Marlins, so I'm disappointed to see Rosenthal say that's what we're looking for. -- Mitre is a sinkerballing 5th-starter-at-best. Nolasco is probably the best prospect of the bunch, and he repeated AA. Pinto, like Nolasco repeated AA after getting shelled at AAA. -- One of them will probably turn into a good pitcher, but odds are that the other two will never amount to anything.
I want a sure thing for Garland. A Kasmir-for-Zambrano type deal. Heck, the Mets were only guaranteed 2+ months of Zambrano. We're offering a full year of Garland, with a 72-hour window to negotiate a new contract. We should get 3 Kasmirs!
