Royals reportedly guarantee Miguel Tejada big-league job

I know this is a Pirates blog, but as someone who had to follow the Dave Littlefield-era Pirates, I have to say ... Dayton Moore and the Royals are hilarious. Their latest move is to agree to terms with Miguel Tejada on a minor-league contract. Which, of course, sounds innocent enough, even though it's very probably pointless. But then you look at the details.

Dionisio Soldevila of the Associated Press, who first reported the agreement, has been told by both Tejada and his agent it is a MLB deal and the contract is worth $1.1MM plus $400K in performance bonuses (all Twitter links). ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas reports the deal will be converted to a Major League contract as soon as there is an opening on the Royals' 40-man roster (Twitter link in Spanish). Rojas also tweeted (link in Spanish) that Tejada told ESPNDeportes.com he's been given guarantees by the Royals he will make the team as a utilityman and second baseman.

Okay, it's only $1.1 million. It's not a huge mistake. But signing Tejada to what appears to be, effectively, a major-league contract, as this point in time, makes about as much sense as entering a mermaid in the Tour de France. Tejada last played in the big leagues in 2011, when he hit .239/.270/.326 with the Giants. Last year, he posted a .621 OPS with the Orioles' Class AAA team in Norfolk before asking to be released. He also can't really play defense anymore.

Where is even the tiniest bit of evidence that this guy deserves to be on a big-league team at this point? True, he used to be good. But if that's the criteria we're using, then hey -- I'm sure Robbie Alomar is available. Or Larry Walker. Or Mo Vaughn. Or whatever.

That the Royals continue to employ Dayton Moore has to be maddening to their fans. A GM can sign Miguel Tejada several times over without crippling the franchise, but a GM who makes small moves that make this little sense usually can't be trusted on the big ones, either. (Wil Myers cough.)