Teixeira Pines For Orioles
The Mark Teixeira-Orioles love affair continued tonight, as the Rangers welcomed Baltimore to town tonight for a series. Said Tex about the Orioles:
"In a year and a half, we’ll have some fun conversations. Baltimore, obviously in the future, is a place I’d love to look at."
Of course, he also said the typical cliches about being a Ranger and wanting to win in Texas. But you don’t often see a player under contract for an additional year and a half so openly talking about playing for another club. Teixeira also spoke of his willingness to chat with top Orioles draft pick Matt Wieters to help facilitate a deal. Both players have Scott Boras as their agent, and both went to Georgia Tech.
You may recall that 40% of the Orioles’ 25-man roster will reach free agency after the 2009 season. The O’s could backload a Teixeira contract to squeeze him in for the ’09 season. It is expected that the Orioles would have considerable competition from at least the Yankees.
Teixeira hopes to rejoin the Ranger lineup one week from now, leaving Jon Daniels two weeks to trade him before the deadline. There hasn’t been much buzz on him lately.
Boras And Stark Battle Over Andruw
Interesting debate going on over at David O’Brien’s AJC blog (which is a good read by the way).
ESPN’s Jayson Stark wrote a book, called The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players In Baseball History. One of the points was that Andruw Jones is overrated currently, because he has lost a step in center field and many folks have not noticed. I think that’s the gist of it but still have to read the book. So then Scott Boras called up O’Brien, complaining about how Stark is just profiteering and stir up controversey with the assertion. Boras also appeared on ESPN to defend his client. (Incidentally, no contract talks have taken place between Boras and the Braves regarding Jones and O’Brien doesn’t think Andruw will be offering any kind of discount).
Stark then read Boras’s comments on the blog, and took offense. His response can be read here. I was all ready to give Stark the upper hand here until J.C. Bradbury stepped in with his analysis of Stark’s rebuttal. Now I’m back on Boras’s side.
Orioles To Make Amends With Boras?
The Orioles have typically shied away from Scott Boras clients, but it stands to reason that yesterday’s selection of catcher Matt Wieters will re-open that door. If the O’s are able to sign Wieters by the August 15th deadline, perhaps they’ll consider Boras clients this winter.
Here’s a list of Boras free agents for the winter of 2007-08:
Eric Gagne
Andruw Jones
Kyle Lohse
Greg Maddux
Corey Patterson
Kenny Rogers
Jeff Weaver
Brad Wilkerson
Byung-Hyun Kim
The Orioles will be one of the clubs in the running for a center fielder, as it doesn’t seem likely Corey Patterson will be around next year. A Boras reconciliation would put Jones in play. One could also envision the O’s adding a crafty veteran like the Gambler.
Mark Teixeira Trade Speculation
Interesting trade speculation from Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News in Wednesday’s Q&A. If the Rangers – currently 14-20 – slide further out of contention, they could consider trading 27 year-old first baseman Mark Teixeira this summer. According to Grant, the bounty would have to include pitching and a Major League-ready first baseman or outfielder.
We know Baltimore covets Teixeira, so Grant’s idea of Nick Markakis and a pitcher for Teixeira could make sense on the surface. The first baseman becomes a free agent after the 2008 season, but I don’t see the Orioles sitting down with Scott Boras and working out an eight-year extension. I’m surprised we haven’t seen Teixeira’s name connected to the Angels yet; they’ve got the talent, the need, and the history of tolerating Scott Boras.
You may recall a Ken Rosenthal article from mid-March, where he paints Baltimore as quite anxious to acquire Teixeira. Rosenthal also throws the Nats into the mix since he’s a Maryland native and the team’s new ballpark will be opening. As I noted a while back, Teixeira won’t be a free agent this offseason but he won’t come cheap in ’08. His salary could jump from $9MM this year to $15MM or so through arbitration.
Orioles Interested In Drew?
Word from the Washington Post is that the Orioles have discussed signing right fielder J.D. Drew. I’m not sure where they’d play him, as Corey Patterson is manning CF and Nick Markakis is in right. Moving one of the three to left field would create a solid outfield defense, though.
While Peter Angelos might not be best friends with Drew’s agent Scott Boras, the O’s did have some Boras clients on the roster this year. Bruce Chen, Patterson, and David Newhan are all represented by the uberagent. The O’s have missed out on Boras clients like Vladimir Guerrero, Kevin Millwood, Ivan Rodriguez, and Magglio Ordonez in the past.
UPDATE: The Red Sox may have made Drew an offer right out of the gate.
The Scott Boras Factor
I’m trying to compile a list of GMs who basically refuse to work with Scott Boras, as well as teams with which he has a good relationship. I figured who would know this better than my faithful commenters? Please post a comment and we can compile the definitive list. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
Likes Boras: Cubs, Tigers, Red Sox, Dodgers, Royals, Mariners, Angels, Diamondbacks, Yankees
Shaky Past But Might Be OK With Boras: Mets, Phillies, Rangers
Hates Boras: White Sox, Orioles, Padres, Marlins, Twins, Braves, Astros, Giants
Unknown: A’s
I’ll update the post as we sort this out.