It’s not fair to lump all Orioles fans into one big group. But as you might expect, some of the team’s fans are pushing for a signing of Maryland native Mark Teixeira. Teixeira, for his part, said all the right things while remaining noncommittal. Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun expects the Orioles to at least make a run at him.
Free agent megadeals are generally frowned upon for non-contenders. The Orioles, especially, face an uphill battle in the AL East. Craig Calcaterra thinks Teixeira would be a mistake for the Orioles, and such a signing would deviate from Andy MacPhail’s plan. I tend to agree. But to play devil’s advocate, we have seen some successful big money free agent deals signed in advance of contention. For example, the Tigers’ signing of Ivan Rodriguez in ’04 and (hopefully) the Royals’ signing of Gil Meche in ’06. The Orioles signing Tex would be in the same mold, only with more risk attached.
Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times says to treat the "ten year contract" talk with skepticism in regard to Teixeira. Tex answered a question from Ken Rosenthal specifically about whether he’d like a ten-year deal – who wouldn’t? There is no sign that Teixeira, even represented by Scott Boras, will actually demand ten years. And even if he does, I doubt he’ll get it.
