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BALTIMORE -- Miguel Tejada has no desire to leave the Baltimore Orioles -- especially not to play third base, at least not now.

Miguel Tejada

Shortstop Baltimore Orioles Profile

2006 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI R OBP AVG 106 19 77 73 .379 .330

Tejada has been the subject of trade rumors as Monday's non-waiver trading deadline draws near. The All-Star shortstop, who expressed a desire to be traded during the offseason, has since changed his mind.

"I'm fine here. What can I do?" Tejada said Sunday.

His future is in the hands of the Orioles' front office, which is reportedly working on a trade, and two of the potential suitors are the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers.

The problem is, both teams have established shortstops in Orlando Cabrera and Michael Young. Tejada told reporters Saturday that he does not want to switch to third base, as Alex Rodriguez did when he joined the New York Yankees.

"I don't want to go anywhere to play third base. [Shortstop] is the position I've always played," Tejada said before the Orioles' 13-11 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday -- although he did say he wouldn't rule it out in the future. "I don't want to disappoint myself and I don't want to disappoint anybody else. If I go somewhere else, I am going to try. But it's not the same [as] if I was going to be playing short."

But he has no control over his fate.

Speaking about the transition from shortstop to third, Angels manager Mike Scioscia told the Los Angeles Times that Tejada "is very athletic … but the first thing is, a player's heart has to be in it."

Despite the trade rumors, Orioles owner Peter Angelos has said it would take an exceptional deal for the team to part with its best players. And Tejada, who has distanced himself from his preseason trade demands, said he does not want out of Baltimore.

"I'm not trying to leave from here," he told The Sun of Baltimore. "They're trying to make me leave. It's the team, not me. I don't have control of that. The manager and I don't know who, they want to take me out of here. But I don't want to push to get out of here because that's not what I'm thinking."

But Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo denied he wants Tejada gone.

"It's certainly not something that would come from my mouth," Perlozzo told The Sun. "It would be pretty hard to say that you want your top hitter and RBI guy off your ballclub. I don't feel that way at all."

Tejada leads Baltimore in batting average, homers and RBIs and still has three years left on a six-year, $72 million contract

"It's hard because, that is something I'm not really asking," he said. "I really don't have on my mind to go anywhere. ... I can say I want to leave but that's not what I got on my mind. I always say I want to stay here. I like it here."

After driving in two runs Sunday, Tejada was asked if he considered the possibility that it might have been his final game with the Orioles.

"I don't think of it that way. I don't think this is going to be my last game," he said. "Now I'm going home and think about coming back tomorrow. I just work here."

Orioles vice presidents Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette will reach a decision by Monday afternoon. Although he's heard the rumors, Tejada hasn't asked either of them to discuss his status.

"I don't need to talk to them. It's not my job, it's not my decision to talk to them," he said. "Even if I talk to them, they can do whatever they want. There is nothing I can do."

Tejada has been a leader on the field and in the clubhouse since joining the Orioles as a free agent on Dec. 14, 2003. One of his best friends on the team is third baseman Melvin Mora, who shuddered to think of the possibility of seeing Tejada being dealt.

"People will be sad, of course, because it's like one part of your family," Mora said. "If they trade Miguel it's because they're going to make a big move. They are going to bring in a lot of guys that can help this club. If you don't do that, why you should trade him?"

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.