According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals are looking for a cleanup hitter. Their targets: Adam Dunn, Prince Fielder, Matt Holliday, and Mark Teixeira.
The Nats probably do not have the depth to pull off a trade for Fielder or Holliday. Teixeira will command a contract in the $150MM range. Of the four, Dunn makes the most sense. He can be had for less than $100MM, and GM Jim Bowden has a history with him.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday is confirming the Red Sox will be pushing hard to sign Mark Teixeira this offseason, a free agent perfect storm situation for Teixeira who also has interest coming from the Yankees. Writes Davidoff,
"Boston will aggressively pursue Teixeira, two industry sources confirmed. While the Red Sox have a very good first baseman in Kevin Youkilis, they can move Youkilis to third to make room for Teixeira. Incumbent third baseman Mike Lowell is recovering from hip surgery and isn’t expected to be ready until mid-March, and as much as the Red Sox like Lowell, they can look to trade him."
Or they may hold onto Lowell and explore the market during the season as they did with Coco Crisp this year.
Teixeira, a switch hitter, would give Terry Francona an impact bat and added flexibility with the middle of his lineup which figures to have lefties David Ortiz and J.D. Drew and righties Youkilis and a motivated Jason Bay.
In this piece, Davidoff also suggests the Sox part with Jason Varitek and move to acquire Jarrod Saltalamacchia for pitching, as MLBTR discussed earlier today; however, if Varitek can be had for little and the Red Sox can afford it, it may make sense to re-sign Varitek and transition in his replacement at a pace dictated by production and success.
According to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff, a Yankees insider thinks that Manny Ramirez is more likely than Mark Teixeira to sign with the club. Hank Steinbrenner and the Yankees haven’t ruled Manny out of their plans, but that doesn’t mean they’re likely to sign either Manny or Teixeira. The Yankees’ priority is starting pitching this offseason.
Davidoff wrote Thursday that “it would be a shocker” to see the Yankees offer Teixeira a contract of 10 years and $200MM. Last year, Tex turned down an eight-year offer from the Rangers worth around $140MM.
According to Peter Abraham, Mike Mussina’s agent, Arn Tellem, arrived in Pennsylvania to talk with Mussina about his future. Abraham speculates that Mussina will announce his retirement "sometime soon." In September, Mussina said if he comes back he would play three more years to try and reach 300 wins.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted a new column yesterday; let’s take a look.
George King of the New York Post has a handful of Yankees rumors this morning.
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up; let’s take a look.
Steve Melewski of MASN Online recently spoke to Orioles president Andy MacPhail about the possibility of spending money in free agency. MacPhail is open to a possible big dollar contract, but he leans toward youth:
Whatever the player and the investment, they have to fit into the strategy of what it is we are trying to achieve as an organization. The likelihood of us signing someone who is 35 is not great. If they are younger and can be helpful to us and their career will be longer with us that just a short-term fix, that’s a whole different story.
MacPhail said he wouldn’t rule out any player, but it’s fair to dismiss the recent Manny Ramirez rumor. The Orioles may look to sign Mark Teixeira or A.J. Burnett, who both have local ties. Tex will be 29 in April, and Burnett will be 32 in January.
Nick Cafardo from the Boston Globe has a nice article up catching up on some Hot Stove news, with a few other odds and ends tied in. Let’s hit the highlights here:
John Perrotto over at Baseball Prospectus has his weekly column up… let’s take a look at what he has to say:
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new rumor-packed article up.
