The Houston Astros made their biggest offseason move since Roger Clemens went from "no" to "maybe" about 12 years in a row. Miguel Tejada, most famously from the Oakland teams of the early 2000s, was traded from Baltimore this morning in a multi-player deal.

Houston gets: SS Miguel Tejada

Baltimore gets: OF Luke Scott, 3B Michael Costanzo and pitchers Dennis Safarte, Matt Albers and Troy Patton

Did the Astros give up too much? Let's look at what they got first. In Miguel Tejada, Houston gets a reliable infield bat and a guy who played every game from 2001-06. Tejada has won two Silver Sluggers and has been two four All-Star games. He was the AL MVP in 2002. The Astros get a tremendous offensive upgrade but sacrifice the range they enjoyed from slick fielding shortstop Adam Everett. If they decide to keep both Everett and Tejada, it may mean moving Tejada to third, a position where Ty Wigginton is currently listed as the starter. Second base will likely go to Kaz Matsui, with Mark Loretta and Geoff Blum in reserve roles. Hopefully the Astros can shop Chris Burke, who underperformed in various roles with Houston but is still young enough to be an attractive trade for other teams with pitching the Astros want.

Luke Scott had the hot start in Spring Training two years ago but never became a reliable everyday player in the outfield for Houston. Costanzo was already new to the Astros organization from an earlier trade with Philadelphia. He's 24 and spent 2007 in Double-A. Doesn't look like Houston's lost too much yet.

But then comes the pitching. The Astros faithful liked what they saw in reliever Safarte at the end of 2007. Houston is a team that needs all the consistent relief pitching they can get. Albers was hit around pretty hard in his short career with Houston, with many of those coming in starts as part of a patchwork Astros rotation. But the biggest loss is by far Troy Patton. Houston's best minor league pitching prospect since Jason Hirsch has now gone the way of Jason Hirsch: away in a trade. An already shaky Astros rotation may not be able to protect any leads that a rejuvenated offense give them.

Time will tell, but the big name move to get a shortstop headed south in his career as a hitter may ultimately stretch Houston's payroll and cause Astros pitching to keep them out of playoff contention for another couple of years. Let's hope not.