Orioles Rumors

9:58pm: Red Sox owner John Henry said:

"We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him. After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor."

Wow.  From favorites to out of the bidding.

9:16pm: Gordon Edes says Boston’s eight-year offer is more than $160MM but less than the $184MM figure Lynch mentioned.  In a newer article, Edes talked to a Red Sox exec who called the idea of a $25MM salary for Tex "ridiculous."  This info gels with the Gammons/Olney suggestion of $22MM per year.  Edes adds that it won’t be a "take it or leave it" type of meeting. 

Edes says the Angels haven’t budged off their original offer, which is north of $160MM.  The Nationals have been told by Boras that they’d have to pay extra. 

8:38pm: The Red Sox "aren’t close to getting a deal done" with Teixeira according to an updated report by Dan Roche of WBZTV.

8:34pm: When asked whether the Angels might improve their offer to Teixeira, Tony Reagins simply repeated that he had already made him a "fair offer."

6:55pm: Dan Roche of WBZTV also confirms the meeting. He suggests an eight-year Red Sox offer in the $180MM range, but hears that Boston doesn’t expect anything "conclusive" tonight.

6:38pm: Buster Olney and Peter Gammons confirm Lynch’s report. ESPN has heard from major league sources that Boras may soon meet with Red Sox executives. Olney and Gammons heard from another team’s executive who expects the offer to be for "about $22MM" per year for eight years, or about $176MM in total.

5:21pm: Mike Lynch from Channel 5 in Boston reports John Henry and Theo Epstein will meet with Scott Boras tonight with the aim of signing Teixeira tonight or Friday morning.  Lynch says the Sox are offering eight years and $184MM.

1:59pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman on rumored offers for Tex:

One source said he believed that Boston was in for close to $180 million over eight years and the Angels in for about the same. The Nats may be as high, or even higher than that. Some suggest they have either hit the $200 million mark, or gotten very close. Or that someone else has.

Heyman expects Teixeira to sign next week, and agrees that the Red Sox are the favorites.  He provides odds of each bidding team signing Teixeira.

8:55am: Yesterday’s Mark Teixeira post focused on the Orioles – they seem to be falling behind, though Andy MacPhail said there’s flexibility with their offer.

We learned today from Kat O’Brien of Newsday today that the Yankees have not made an offer to Teixeira, and may not if the bidding gets too high.

Nick Cafardo’s been talking to a GM involved in the bidding, and that person says the Red Sox have the highest offer on the table.  The offer could be eight years at the highest average annual salary.  Sean McAdam says the Red Sox have their own ceiling and won’t get into a bidding war.  He adds that there’s no backup plan for Boston – "it’s Teixeira or bust."