Mark Teixeira Archives - Page 58 of 58

The Great Teixeira Race

May 20, 2008 by Benjamin Kabak 59 Comments

As the Yankees and the Mets both deal with underperforming first basemen at the ends of lengthy and expensive contracts, Dan Graziano takes a look at the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes and concludes that the Yanks and Mets will emerge as the two most likely bidders for Teixeira’s service. Throughout the piece, Graziano bemoans the old sluggers on the New York teams and calls Teixeira — 29 at the start of next season — a “a breath of fresh air for either New York team.”

But the problem is that Teixeira will be a breath of fresh air only until he too starts getting old. I don’t think Teixeira will sign for anything less than seven years, and while I’m not opposed to the idea, his contract will eventually be as problematic as Jason Giambi’s and Carlos Delgado’s are right now. While “in with the young, out with the old” is a sound philosophy, the young grow old quickly.

Teixeira packing for Atlanta

July 30, 2007 by Joe Pawlikowski 10 Comments

According to Ken Rosenthal, “the deal is done”. All that remains is the medical review of each player.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, A-level shortstop Elvis Andrus, and two pitching prospects are headed to Texas. No word on whether that includes Kyle Davies or Matt Harrison. The Rangers will also receive reliever Ron Mahay in the deal.

The Mark Teixeira sweepstakes

June 1, 2007 by Benjamin Kabak 7 Comments

In his blog today, Buster Olney notes that tensions between Mark Teixeira and Ron Washington as well as the young first baseman’s upcoming free agency may lead the Rangers to trade Teixeira sooner rather than later.

Of course, I started salivating at the thought of Teixeira in a Yankee uniform manning first base. The timing couldn’t be better. Jason Giambi is down and possibly out for the season. The Yanks need to make some move to shake up the team. And Teixeira is an utter beast at the plate and good with the glove. Good bye, Doug Mientkiewicz, in other words.

But then I arrived at this paragraph:

The Yankees have little to no interest in trading for Teixeira, by the way, because they know Texas will want a substantial package in return and they have no interest in paying for him twice.

In one sense, that paragraph dashed my hopes. Teixeira, with his .300/.400/.500 line, won’t be arriving in New York any time soon. But hidden in those words is hope for the future.

Based on what Olney is saying – the Yanks “have no interest in paying for him twice” – it’s clear that when Teixeira hits free agency in November of 2008, the Yanks will throw the bank at home. Jason Giambi’s albatross of a contract will be off the books, and the Yanks will have to fill a hole at first base. What better way to do that than with Mark Teixeira.

Teixeira will be 28 at the time, and I’ll say now, that is one big-ticket signing I’ll be supporting loud and clear come November 2008.