Posted by Zach Sanders on Monday, October 5, 2009 at 3:03 pm

Miguel Tejada had a nice bounce back season for the Houston Astros, giving them the production they were hoping for when they traded for him two years ago. So good, in fact, that he may be climbing up team’s radars as a free agent shortstop in the coming months.

Problem is, it doesn’t look like his numbers are for real.

The 14 homers he has hit this year are legit, and he won’t show much more pop than that if he continues to play past this season. However, his batting average jumped up to .314, second best of his career and best since 2006. Looking at his swing and batted ball numbers, they all seem the same. This points to his BABIP of .323, once again second highest of his career and highest since 2006. It is unlikely his average will remain that high, and will likely drop down closer to the .283 he hit in 2008.

He still doesn’t walk (only 2.9% of the time), and doesn’t play great defense. It will be hard for any team to spend too much money on him, even if he has been worth almost $12MM this year. His age (both of them) will be the main factor teams won’t jump into the Miguel Tejada with both feet this year, and Miguel will likely be back in Houston because of it. Look for him to make much less than the $13MM he was owed this year, as the Astros look to cut back and go for a youth movement next season.