Heyman On Teixeira

Jon Heyman's latest column does a fine job analyzing Mark Teixeira's future. To sum it up: Heyman's source expects the asking price to be around ten years and $200MM. Personally, I don't see him getting a term nearly that long. Heyman and his sources do not see the Braves re-signing Tex. The suitors, in order of likelihood: Yankees, Mets, Orioles, Mariners, Braves, Red Sox, Giants. A battle of the New York powers is a reasonable prediction - both clubs should have first base open and the market for the position is otherwise poor. In a February MLBTR poll, the Yankees...

Will Salty Callup Lead To Laird Trade?

Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been called up, and GM Jon Daniels has no plans for him to warm the bench. Salty performed well at AAA Oklahoma, and when backup backstop Adam Melhuse broke a bone in his hand on Thursday, the call-up seemed imminent. However, incumbent Rangers catcher Gerald Laird has also been solid to start the season. Given the organization's desire to get Saltalamacchia regular at-bats and the lackluster hitting of first baseman Ben Broussard, I think it's likely that the defensively sub-par Salty will see at least some time at the "cold corner." But with the Rangers off to...

Rangers DFA Tejeda, Cruz

As expected the Rangers DFA'd outfielder Nelson Cruz and pitcher Robinson Tejeda over the weekend. Tejeda is a casualty of the Rangers' Friday deal for Dustin Nippert, and has been undergoing a thus far unsuccessful transition to the bullpen. He went 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA during the spring, but did manage to run a streak of four scoreless appearances prior to giving up a game-ending RBI triple to Felix Pie last week. Cruz's release was expected. There was some light talk of him possibly being moved to Tampa last week, but that evaporated when the Rays acquired former Angels...

Heyman's Latest: Crede, Ethier, Teixeira

SI.com rumor guru Jon Heyman has a new column up; let's take a gander. Heyman talked to an NL scout who considers Joe Crede a below average third baseman right now. If that scout's opinion is the consensus, it makes sense that Kenny Williams is inclined to wait for Crede to build more value. The Rangers pushed hard to acquire Andre Ethier from the Dodgers, both in a Mark Teixeira deal and after L.A. signed Andruw Jones. If I were a Dodger fan, I'd be angry to see the team put its pride ahead of winning by playing Juan Pierre...

Where Will Teixeira Sign?

In today's Baltimore Sun, Dan Connolly hashes out the oft-rumored idea of the Orioles signing hometown boy Mark Teixeira after this season. He opines: If Peter Angelos sets a club salary record, it would be for Teixeira. Connolly also notes the team's repaired relations with Scott Boras and the agent's occasional tendency to push clients to bad teams to maximize paydays. For his part, Teixeira's not saying much. There's plenty of reason to stay in Atlanta if they offer something competitive. If Teixeira has a huge 40 HR, 120 RBI year, he'd seemingly be in line for at least Connolly's...

Odds and Ends: Crisp, Stewart, Meyer

Let's round 'em up! I'm doing a fantasy baseball mailbag feature at The Hardball Times. Check out the first entry. Nothing really new from Coco Crisp...if he loses the center field battle, he'll probably prefer a trade. The Brewers are close to a minor league deal with Russell Branyan, who might have a hard time sniffing the big league roster anytime this season. The Toronto Star relays from J.P. Ricciardi that the Blue Jays no longer have an offer on the table for Shannon Stewart. Turns out Oakland's Dan Meyer has a fourth option, meaning he's likely to lose the...