Oh dear.

When the Astros decided to trade five players for Miguel Tejada over the off-season, more than a few observers commented that Houston would only get to witness the declining years of the one-time MVP.  Some scouts questioned whether he could remain at shortstop, while his performances at the plate in 2007 were a distinct downturn on his previous All-Star output.   At thirty-one years old, such dips are less likely to be down to bad luck.  Age catches up with everyone and the question that Houston fans had to ponder was ‘is this the beginning of the end’?

A decent start to the 2008 may have moved that thought to the back of their minds, but now it will be at the forefront again.  The Astros have announced today that Miguel Tejada is actually two years older than originally thought (far from uncommon among Latin players).  If the Astros were planning a party to celebrate his 32nd birthday next month, they may have to order some new balloons (changing that ‘2’ to a ‘4’ won’t be easy with a black felt tip pen).

Will an extra two years really make such a big difference?  It depends on the individual and what condition they are in.  Still, I would sooner be paying a player $26m for his 32 and 33 years rather than his 34 and 35 years, especially when that’s what the Astros thought they would be spending their money on when they traded for him.

You’ll recall that the Astros announced the deal for Tejada a day before the Mitchell report was released.  Seeing their new star implicated in the report must have been a big shock and this latest news wouldn’t have been a pleasant surprise either.   Perhaps a lesson has been learned though: if you’re going to trade five players are commit yourself to an outlay of $26m, better make sure your due diligence process leaves no stone unturned.