[TheKilo]

Yankees may be interested in Tejada:

Though it's much too early to fit Miguel Tejada for pinstripes, it's not entirely out of the question either. Seeking a potential replacement for free agent third baseman Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees have some interest in the Orioles' star infielder, according to an industry source.

How much interest they have, and how willing the Orioles will be to trade their most accomplished player to a division rival remains to be seen. One of several reasons the Orioles balked at trading Tejada to the Boston Red Sox after the 2005 season was because some in the organization, including owner Peter Angelos, were hesitant to help out a division rival.

"We have to be open-minded to anything," said Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, talking in general about the potential of moving Tejada. "If we think a deal at the end of the day makes sense for us, we're going to do it."

One industry source said the Yankees' No. 1 choice to replace Rodriguez is Cabrera, the 24-year-old slugger with a .313 career average and 138 home runs and 523 RBIs in 720 big league games. New Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who managed Cabrera for one season in Florida, made no attempt to hide his interest in a reunion with the player.

However, Hank Steinbrenner, the son of the Yankees owner, told the Associated Press tonight that the club wasn't interested in trading top young pitchers Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes. That could made landing Cabrera difficult.

The Orioles' asking price for Tejada, 31, who has .305 with 17 home runs and 94 RBIs in 123 career games against New York, would figure to be significantly less than what the Marlins would want for Cabrera.

The Orioles are primarily looking for talented position player prospects who are close to major league ready. The Yankees are thin in that area, but do have a wealth of young pitching. MacPhail said the Orioles are in no position to discriminate.

"Let's get the young talent first and then we'll sort it out," MacPhail said.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/b...0,378261.story