Kat O’Brien of Newsday has the latest Mark Teixeira trade rumors for our perusal. According to O’Brien, the Yankees, Dodgers, Orioles, Angels, and Braves as said to be interested in the first baseman.
We’ve seen the Angels connected to Teixeira plenty of times, and I still don’t get it. Why would the Angels move Casey Kotchman, by all accounts a fine fielder, off first base? The rumors persist, but this does not seem like a fit for the Halos. They need a third baseman.
With the Yanks, I imagine the stumbling block remains finding a package good enough for Jon Daniels without including Phil Hughes. I see this as a long shot, mainly because the Red Sox are not rumored to be after Teixeira. And I just demonstrated why I don’t think the Angels will legitimately chase him. So the Yankees wouldn’t be in competition with an AL contender for Teixeira (unless the Tigers get involved). There is no pressing need to give up the farm, even the non-Hughes part of the farm.
The Braves are a dark horse; I think the Dodgers and Orioles will go head to head for Teixeira. O’Brien mentions that at least eight or nine teams have expressed at least casual interest, so there are a few unknowns here. If I had to guess, I’d say Teixeira becomes a Dodger or else stays put this summer.
