Miguel

Tejada

Melvin Mora received the other 1 1/2 first-place votes. The Orioles may have had a disappointing season, but in Tejada, Mora, B.J. Ryan, Rodrigo Lopez and Javy Lopez, they had at least five players who would have won team MVP over last year’s choice, Jay Gibbons.

The Mets could consider signing Tejada as a third baseman, but they’ll probably have more interest in Kazuo Matsui and Luis Castillo, both of whom figure to come quite a bit cheaper. The Angels look like the top candidates to land Tejada.

The A’s are going to reactive rather than proactive with Tejada, who hasn’t received much interest yet. It appears that teams want to see just what happens with Kazuo Matsui before they consider making an offer to Tejada.

The Tigers realize that it’s a longshot that they’ll be able to land Tejada or Vladimir Guerrero, but that won’t stop them from at least making an offer. According to the Detroit Free Press, the other teams currently expressing interest in Tejada are the Angels, Cubs and Phillies.

The Mariners haven’t decided what to do with Carlos Guillen, but it appears that they don’t want him back at shortstop. He could move to third base or get non-tendered if the team can upgrade.

The offer to Tejada was for three years and $27 million, while their offers to catchers Javy Lopez and Ivan Rodriguez were both two- or three-year deals at between $6 million and $8 million per year. It’s unlikely that any of the offers will be accepted, but further discussions are likely with all three players. Tejada also has offers on the table from Seattle and Detroit, though the Tigers aren’t optimistic about signing him. The Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are the heavy favorites to sign Lopez.

An option for a fourth year was included. Apparently, the Mariners are going to let the Mets and Dodgers fight over Kazuo Matsui while they go after the sure thing. It looks like a good strategy -- they’ve already blown their first-round pick on Raul Ibanez, so signing Tejada would just cost a second-rounder -- but it’s probably going to take more than $8 million per year to get a deal done.

Memo to the Tigers: free pizza for life and long-term contracts are a dangerous combination. Although the Tigers will consider making a run at Vladimir Guerrero, Miguel Tejada appears to be their primary target. No one else seems especially interested in him at the moment, so a deal is a possibility.

“Right now, our focus is on a couple of other guys, and to retain Miguel is probably unrealistic based on our payroll,” A’s GM Billy Beane said Friday. “Right now, we haven’t made an offer to him.” There’s a slight chance that the A’s could make a late run at keeping Tejada, assuming they don’t re-sign Keith Foulke. However, it’s far more likely that the shortstop will end up in Anaheim or Seattle.

Assistant GM Paul DePodesta said, ''I don’t even think that’s worth a comment.’'