Mark Teixeira Rumors: Tuesday

04Forever,

I think teams want to see if Lowell is healthy first before wanting to trade for him, so if the sox sign Tex, Lowell won't be moved until spring training IMO.

If the Red Sox believe they can get Texieria and still have Lowe on the team, then I see them as a fit

I take it you meant Lowell

But I agree with you about the Angels, I just don't see them letting him go

I think the Angels will do anything in their power to keep Tex. But you say they won't let him go and I think you're looking at it wrong. It's not about whether or not they will let him go, it's about whether or not they have the power to keep him if Theo really wants him, which all indications say. If theo wants Tex half as bad as the reports are saying, he will have him and there is nothing the angels can do about it. I think that Boras really is trying to use Texeira as leverage to sign Varitek. So I think to get Tex Theo will have to sign him and Tek, but I think that's ultimately what he wants to do anyway. I think before this hot stove season is over you see the Sox walk away with Tex, Tek, Lowe (a little cheaper than reports are estimating he'll get), a young high potential catcher, and Rocco Baldelli. Though I am hearing their name popping up a lot more in Peavy rumors so if the rumors are true replace Lowe with Peavy. I think this is a pretty reasonable prediction seeing as everyone is predicting much more far fetched things for the Yanks, Dodgers, Mets, and Angels. For some reason everyone is drooling over the Yanks spending money this year and completely dismissing the fact that they have to overhaul the entire team on that money whereas Theo could go into the season with the team he has now and be fine. And he has a nice chunk of change to spend himself if he WANTS to bring the payroll to what it was last year. Plus no one has said he couldn't go above and beyond last year's payroll. But if he makes the additions I said above the payroll will be very comparable to last years especially if you assume they would lose some, probably not all, of Lowell's contract at some point too.

as a yankee fan, I've had my head deadset on just three; CC, Sheets, Tex. just is prolly not the operable word.

At the same time, you have to be realistic; that would be ~340 million total committed on the three combined. we committed 380 with Arod, JoPo and Mo last offseason, granted; cashman said we wouldn't surpass what we spent last offseason, but you can't expect a team to continually spend that much money year after year.

Alls I'm saying is: don't get your hopes up Yankee fans. If we can make LAA dish out 9/190, it is a good offseason. Boston is a pretender in this to me with Lowell, Lars, Youkilis and Papi

I really cant see the red sox's giving him 10 years and over 200 million. If they did sign Tex, they would be going against things that they have been doing good the last couple of years(minor leaguers). Because it would block that one kid, Lars? I hope the yankees sign Tex because we need his bat. If the red sox's do sign him when will people shut up about the yankees buying their players then. And if we miss out on CC, and Peavy is still for trade i think we would make a big push for him.

The market for Mike Lowell will develop after Casey Blake signs. (and assuming the Sox are able to sign Teixeira)

Figure if Blake signs a 3 year deal that makes Lowell at 2 years remaining a little more attractive. (age wise Blake is older then Lowell).

Once the money Blake gets is determined the Red Sox will be able to appropriately figure out how much of Lowells salary they would need to eat to price him at fair market value.

Of course if the Sox don't have the ink dry on the paper for Teixeira, they probably won't even talk about trading Lowell.

How exactly would Blake signing for 3/$17M make Lowe more attractive at 2/$24M?

How exactly would Blake signing for 3/$17M make Lowe more attractive at 2/$24M?

Posted by: mac_1103 | December 09, 2008 at 08:53 AM

Because it helps determine the market value for Lowell.

If you read my whole post, I indicate that the Sox would have to kick in money. So it wouldn't be Lowell at 2yrs and $24 million.

With Blake signed, the Sox can appropriately determine just how much they need to kick in on Lowell to price him accordingly.

It makes Lowell more appealing at this point because other teams have a reasonable market value to compare too.

Lowell at 2yrs and $16 million v.s Blake and 3yrs at $18 million is a better deal in my opinion.

Lowell could easily net your 2 draft picks in 2 years and he is also the better player all around.

"Nobody is going to give Teixeira 10 years, I just don't see it happening, all the crazy when the Yankees re-upped with A-Rod for 10 years, saying it was horrible investment, even for someone as good as A-Rod, there's no way somebody gives Teixeira 10 years, and if they do, it's going to be for less than 200 million, i promise you that."

People weren't saying his first ten year deal was a horrible investment, but his last one was. His new deal takes him to age 42 at the end of his deal. His prior deal, much like any deal for Mark Teixeira would, brought him to 38. For a deal in the AL, where an aging player with a phenomenal bat like either of them can always DH in the later years, ten years for a position player isn't all that bad if it's done before they hit 30.

A-Rod, upon signing his initial ten year deal, was inevitably going to have to move away from short stop by the end of his contract. Teixeira's at a much easier position, though. His fielding will likely break down before his bat will. Many prolific hitters of his make can easily handle batting well into their late thirties.

As someone who hates albatross contracts and long term deals, I would offer Tex ten years if that's what it took to get it done. Ten years at $200 million would probably work out to being a steal by the fifth or sixth year of his contract with the rate some salaries are rising. He's a top-tier bat, a plus defender and has an incredibly clean injury history. That's a very reasonable contract to offer and whoever lands him is probably landing the best acquisition of this offseason.

If Tex signs with the sox do the angels go after CC. Just waiting for this snowball to get rolling.

"Red Sox should add both CC and Texiera. Then I'd become a Red Sox fan. I'd defiantly buy a CC Sabathia Red Sox Jersey...especially with Texiera he might be able to win 300 games."

Sabathia in a Sox uniform is highly unlikely. The Sox don't like to offer long term contracts to high priced, free agent pitchers and Sabathia's looking long term.

Tex to NY, Tex to Bos, Tex stays in LA, CC to NY, CC to LA, CC to SF....... God *&^%$#@ it somebody end the posturing and make a *&^%$#@ deal!!! This is getting as drawn out as the presidential elections.

1. Lars would not be blocked by a Tex signing. Ortiz is getting older and in a couple years when Lars is ready to come up Ortiz will be on his way out. Lars will end up as the DH of the future.

2. As for the 10 yr contract length i doubt it happens. The only reason AROD got 10 yrs from the Yanks is because they know that he will be challenging for the HR title near the end of his career and that means $$$$$$$$. They pay him for his talents now and then for the ticket sales he will generate in his later less productive years. its actually a great deal they made with him. Tex - not going to be breaking HR records so don't expect him to get too much. 8 yrs is a little ridiculous but you know what you're getting from him and it appears that whoever he signs with is where he will stay for the rest of his career.

"red sox fans-
if the sox can't get tex how bout these two possible trades

Prince fielder and prospect for delcarmen, masterson, lars Anderson and maybe low level prospect
or
fielder for delcarmen/bowden, masterson/buchholz, lowrie, Lowell
any thoughts?"

Nope. The Sox aren't going after Teixeira to fill any kind of glaring hole. They're going after him because he's a premiere free agent who will cost nothing but money.

Beyond that, both of those trades create more holes than they potentially solve. Fielder solves the potential problem the Sox MAY have of protection for Ortiz. Unfortunately, the trades cause multiple problems:

The first trade leaves our bullpen absolutely devastated. We could afford to lose maybe one of Delco or Masterson, but not both.

The second is an absolute mess for the Sox. It hurts the bullpen AND rotation depth at once and then pretty much turns the infield defense into an absolute mess. You'd have gold glovers at second and third, but then you've got a tandem of Lugo and Fielder at first and short stop, probably the two most important defensive positions. Both of them are subpar defenders on their own, pairing them would be a nightmare.

Fielder is a great bat, but a subpar defender. He's basically a younger David Ortiz. They'll probably consider a pass at him when he hits free agency (Considering it'll coincide with the Sox looking to move on from Ortiz), but there's no way the Sox will trade for him.

Teixeira is a luxury item that the Sox covet the heck out of. If they don't land him, they will stand pat and shore up their depth.

"This is the game that the idiot fans of those two teams support with ever escalating ticket prices that they continue to purchase, even if it means selling their mother or sister to do so. Scott Boras is counting on this happening and he is right more often than wrong."

It sure must be depressing to root for a small market team, huh?

BerndtToast: "red sox fans-
if the sox can't get tex how bout these two possible trades

Prince fielder and prospect for delcarmen, masterson, lars Anderson and maybe low level prospect
or
fielder for delcarmen/bowden, masterson/buchholz, lowrie, Lowell"

Do not want. You won't see Theo making any deals for big, hulking power hitters/pitchers unless he gets them for free (see Ortiz). They burn out too quickly. That's why they're not going after Sabathia.

If I recall correctly, Tex was sick of losing in Texas. Would he really want to sign with the Nats, years away from even breaking the .500 mark?

After seeing A-Rod come to the Rangers solely because they offered the most money and end up miserable, I would have though he (and his agent) would have learned something.

count me as the only red sox fan who's not thrilled at signing teixeira to a long term deal. he's a great hitter for sure, but the deal forces management's hands into trading lowell when his value is at his absolute lowest.

as for everyone touting his defense, spending extra money for a "gold glove first basemen" is like buying a hybrid suv for fuel economy. i understand he's good at first, but first base is by far the least demanding defensive position on the field.

"count me as the only red sox fan who's not thrilled at signing teixeira to a long term deal. he's a great hitter for sure, but the deal forces management's hands into trading lowell when his value is at his absolute lowest."

Explain to me why moving Youk to LF (where Manny was able to play effectively in Fenway) and having Ellsbury be our 4th OF for part of spring training and some of the first month or two is such a terrible idea.

Youk isnt the kind of guy who would slack off of his training regimen and become stale at 3b so thats not a concern. The downfall of this is Drew -- but Im not too concerned about that if i can get good return from lowell, get real protection for ortiz, and block the Yanks from getting Tex.

JP
Its not to accommodate one player - its for fair trade value/salary dump purposes. I think its worth more than management discussion to make this move.

I suppose in the long run these moves are just conjecture, but assuming we get Tex what are our plans for lowell?

-Take rock bottom offers for lowell during spring training
-Split 3B between youk (mvp candidate) and lowell
-Shuffle the outfield and take care of another off-season need

I guess it comes down to whether or not your a gambling man.

Last year Red Sox:

Runs Scored: 845 (3rd in MLB)
Runs Against: 694 (8th in MLB)

Adding Teixeira next year probably nets you another maybe 3-4 wins.

I'd rather have seen them go out and use some of their acquire pitching. Granted its now a moot point because Sabathia has signed with the Yankees - but that same money added to run prevention would have made a much bigger difference.

Its not because I'm a Mike Lowell fan. I thought the last contract offer was a bad move even though I understand why it was done.

As for 1st base defense - its nice to have- but of all positions 1st base is the least important. Thats why failed position players end up there.