And it's apparently not with the Red Sox. In a stunning development, Adam Kilgore from the Boston Globe reports that the Red Sox are out of the running for Mark Tiexeira!!
Red Sox owner John Henry just e-mailed several media members with a stunning twist in the team's pursuit of Mark Teixeira. Henry's words, in an e-mail time-stamped 10:45 p.m.: "We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him. After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor."
Wow. Most baseball writers thought the Red Sox were the favorites to sign Tex. Maybe this is posturing. But then again, Scott Boras always signs his clients with the highest bidder. So who is outbidding the Red Sox? There are several possibilities as Yahoo's Gordon Edes writes:
The Los Angeles Angels, Teixeira’s last team, have not budged off the eight-year offer they made Teixeira last week at the winter meetings, one for at least $160 million, and a source said they aren’t likely to do so. Baltimore Orioles president Andy MacPhail, whose team reportedly offered a seven-year, $150 million deal, said this week that his club has some “flexibility,” a signal they expect to up their ante. The Washington Nationals, 102-game losers in 2008, have been told by Boras, according to a source, that their offer will have to outdistance the others – by how much is unclear – if they expect Teixeira to sign with them.
It's entirely possible the Orioles and Nationals outbid the Red Sox.....by alot. You have to remember, the GM for the Nationals is Jim Bowden, and he loves toolsy hitters, he needs a 1bman, and he needs a "face of the franchise". Tiexeira fits all of those requirements. Plus, he is from Maryland, which leads me to believe the Orioles may have increased their offer to the stratosphere also. Can you hear 10 yrs for $200 million?
Then again, maybe the Yankees jumped into the bidding. Cashman may be taking the view that if he signs Teixeira, he gets his 1bman, he gets someone to hit behind A-Rod, and the Red Sox don't sign him. Cashman blew away all other potential suitors for CC Sabathia....maybe he did the same with Teixeira. And the bigger reason is Boston can't sign the next best hitter available-Manny Ramirez. They already took that soap opera off the air.