Tag: Mark Teixeira (Page 8 of 10)

Yankees after Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira

The New York Post is reporting that the New York Yankees will pursue free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez and first basemen Mark Teixeira.

“If they can’t get Teixeira, they are right there on Manny,” an official with knowledge of the Yankees’ plan said yesterday.

The attention being paid to bolster the lineup that lost Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi doesn’t mean the Yankees are out of the pitching business. They remain engaged with Andy Pettitte, Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets. Eventually, the Yankees believe Pettitte will take their $10 million offer.

Only fools count out the Yankees when it comes to free agents. Nevertheless, Teixeira has eight-year offers for $160 million from the Angels and Nationals. The Red Sox are wary of eight years but aren’t shy of six for $150. Having already spent $243.5 million for CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees may not want to go that high (or for that many years) for Teixeira.

If they pass on Teixeira, the Yankees will try and bolster a sagging lineup with Ramirez, one of the greatest run producers in baseball history. And to clear some money, they might entertain offers for outfielder Xavier Nady, who made $3.35 million last year, is arbitration eligible and a free agent after the 2009 season.

I wouldn’t doubt the Yankees landing any top free agent, but I don’t think Teixeira will be playing in pinstripes next year. I think they entered the Teixeira-talks to drive up the price for Boston.

Manny, on the other hand, is a different story. I think he’s pissed that he wasn’t offered a contract yet and will jump at the chance to join the Evil Empire so he can stick it to teams – especially the Red Sox.

Hot Stove League: New York, New York (Burnett Officially Signs With Yankees)

I know this was Vegas, which comes with its own set of distractions, but come on. We all expected a lot more to happen at the MLB Winter Meetings this past week than the Yankees giving CC Sabathia the equivalent of a small planet and AJ Burnett significant real estate on said planet (the Yanks made the latter official Friday afternoon with a 5-year, $82.5 million deal), as well as the Mets signing the best closer out there (K-Rod) and trading for a second one (JJ Putz) to be their set-up guy. Unless the Orioles and Reds swapping Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Freel, or the Rays and Tigers trading Edwin Jackson for Matt Joyce gets your blood flowing, it was kind of a disappointing week, especially if you live 40 miles or more outside of the New York metro area.

We still have Manny Ramirez without a team, and the very real possibility that he could just stay with the Dodgers. Really, doesn’t that make the most sense for this guy’s, um, easygoing, personality and playing style? Meanwhile, the stakes for Mark Teixeira have been upped by none other than the Washington Nationals, who are believed to be offering the free agent slugger eight years at $20 million per. That sounds to me like agent Scott Boras trying to just be Scott Boras. We all know Tex is going to wind up in Boston, Baltimore, or back with the Angels.

And as if Cubs’ fans haven’t suffered through enough misery lately, GM Jim Hendry decided to pull the plug on the Jake Peavy trade. He just didn’t want to inherit as much salary as the Padres wanted him to, and he surely didn’t want to throw Mark DeRosa on a plane to San Diego as part of the deal. Now, the Angels have been mentioned as a team that might pursue Peavy, and you definitely can’t count the Yankees out either. Oh, and by the way, the Yankees have turned their attention to in-house “old reliable” Andy Pettitte now, and have not ruled Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe out yet. Wow.

Meanwhile, the Mets spent so much on closers that they literally had nothing left to go after Lowe. Instead, GM Omar Minaya is talking to the Cubs about a trade for Jason Marquis, and/or re-signing Oliver Perez or Pedro Martinez.

There could be a lot more moves on the horizon, but in a week expected to have a lot of fireworks, the hot stove fired up in New York and nowhere else. Stay tuned though, because deals are known to happen into January, and some, like Ramirez and Teixeira signing, could lead a domino effect for more moves.

Red Sox, Mark Teixeira getting closer to a deal?

According to FOX Sports.com’s Ken Rosenthal, the Boston Red Sox are inching closer to signing free agent Mark Teixeira.

The Red Sox are making progress in their quest to sign free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira, according to a major-league source.

“Headway was being made earlier today,” one source said.

A rival general manager whose plans could be affected by the Red Sox’s addition of Teixeira also indicated that a deal was getting closer.

Teixeira is the Red Sox’s No. 1 offseason target. They view him as the perfect fit for the middle of their order.

Teixeira is seeking a 10-year contract for at least $20 million per season. The Red Sox preference would be to sign him to a deal between six and eight years.

With CC Sabathia taken, Teixeira is now the biggest prize on the free-agent market. He hit 33 home runs and had 121 RBIs as a member of the Braves and Angels last season. Teixeira has never hit less than 26 homers in his six major-league seasons.

This would be a fantastic move for the Red Sox because they not only get a quality hitter, but a young quality hitter for the middle of their lineup. He might not have Manny Ramirez’s pop, but again, he’s younger and comes with less baggage.

Conversely, this would be a huge blow for the Angels, who have made Teixeira their number one offseason target. The Orioles and Nationals have also shown interest in the first basemen, although it appears that the only real suitors for his services are the BoSox and Halos.

Hot Stove League: Someone Light the Pilot

Seriously, will someone please sign a big free agent already? The MLB Winter Meetings begin on Monday in Vegas, and hopefully the baseball big shots will spend more time signing free agents and making trades than they do gambling.

Well, a few things have happened of note this week. The Red Sox signed AL MVP Dustin Pedroia to a new, six-year deal worth $40.5 million. And this for a guy who was making less than $500K per year. But dude has earned every penny…..Javier Vazquez was traded from the White Sox to the Braves for four young (mostly minor league) players, and Ozzie Guillen is probably smiling if he’s reading this….the Padres sent Khalil Greene to St. Louis…..and the Giants signed infielder Edgar Renteria to a two-year, $18.5 million deal and are also talking about making CC Sabathia an offer and even trading for Florida third baseman Jorge Cantu. Yeah, the Giants are not messing around. And Derek Lowe has been offered two deals, one by the Phillies and another by a mystery team

Okay, so I guess some things are happening, but not the big ones we all were waiting for, at least not yet. The Yankees are set to meet with CC Sabathia this weekend to discuss their ridiculously large offer made recently. Here are a few other rumors and possible deals that could happen next week….

The Mets are finally prepared to offer deals to Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes, but it remains to be seen if both offers will happen simultaneously. Speaking of Fuentes, he, along with the likes of Sabathia and Cubs closer Kerry Wood have all been offered salary arbitration, which means anyone signing them will have to give the team that loses them two draft picks in 2009. Fuentes is also being rumored to re-signing with Colorado. And the Mets are rumored to be talking to the White Sox about sending prize prospect Fernando Martinez to Chicago for Bobby Jenks and Jermaine Dye. I just don’t see that really happening, do you?

Pat Burrell may sign with the Angels if the Angels cannot retain Mark Teixeira. And if Teixeira goes to the Red Sox, which is more than a rumor, the Sox may deal Mike Lowell to make room for Teixeira, who would be the first baseman with Kevin Youkilis moving to third.

Jermaine Dye’s name is being mentioned in trade talks (besides the Mets), and the teams being mentioned are Cincinnati, St. Louis, Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the White Sox are also listening to offers for Jim Thome and Paul Konerko. Yikes….did someone give Sox GM Kenny Williams some dynamite?

Randy Johnson is hoping to sign a one-year deal with either Oakland or San Francisco…..the Cubs are thinking about signing Adam Dunn. Those two items didn’t just put you to sleep, did they?

Oh, and here’s a sure sign of the economy slowing. Dunn, Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu are among the names not offered salary arbitration this past week. That means the D-Backs, Phillies, and Yankees, respectively, would rather piss away two draft picks than have to re-sign the player. Say it with me again, Yikes.

Hopefully we’ll have lots to report next week!

Yankees believe they’re the only serious suitors for CC Sabathia

From Ken Davidoff at Newsday:

CC SabathiaAs the Angels distanced themselves from Sabathia, leaving the Yankees poised to land their top target, the Braves moved closer toward signing Burnett, another item on the Yankees’ radar.

Angels general manager Tony Reagins, meanwhile, told MLB.com late Tuesday that his top free-agent target remained Mark Teixeira, rather than Sabathia. Reagins said there was “nothing to” reports that the Angels, who clearly need offense more than they need pitching, were shifting their focus from Teixeira to Sabathia.

With none of the other West Coast teams expressing much interest, Sabathia is left with the Yankees’ offer of six years and about $140 million and the Brewers’ offer of five years and $100 million. As much as Sabathia prefers the NL, he probably doesn’t prefer it enough to leave $40 million on the table.

If they can sign Sabathia, the Yankees will be all but out of the running for Teixeira, and probably Manny Ramirez, as well. They’ll try to land Lowe while continuing their attempt to bring back Andy Pettitte at a pay cut.

I’m still of the mind that one of the California teams – Angels, Dodgers, Giants – will make a big move for Sabathia and he’ll wind up in his hometown state. He wants to play in his hometown state, he wants to hit and if one of those teams are willing to give him a fair deal, than he’ll likely jump. If he’s all about the money, than the Yankees are his only option because they’re going to come up with the green in the end.

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