Daily Archives: December 23, 2008
Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports believes the Mets and Derek Lowe are deep in negotiations, though an offer has not yet been made.
According to Edes, ‘the Red Sox had mild interest in Lowe,’ and while losing out on Mark Teixeira could prompt them to get involved, ‘indications from Red Sox sources point to less costly options.’
Speaking of starting pitchers…
Peter Abraham of the Journal News writes, “Unless the Yankees are able to trade one of their extra hitters, there may be no room for Andy Pettitte.”
…so, if the Red Sox are on-the-fence, let’s say, and the Yankees cannot afford $10 million for pettitte, and the Braves and Phillies are not interested, who will be Omar Minaya’s top competition for lowe…i guess maybe the Angels, but i have not heard or seen their name in connection to him either…
Update, 4:15 pm:
The eight-year, $180 million deal agreed to between the Yankees and Mark Teixeira has a full no-trade clause and $5 million signing bonus, reports Bill Madden in the Daily News, who adds:
“Until Tuesday, the Yankees were mostly interested observers… But when the Angels pulled out of the bidding on Sunday night, and the Red Sox failed to reach an agreement… the Yankees suddenly became more interested… It was then learned that Teixeira had favored the Yankees all along and according to sources he conveyed that to them this week.”
…so, wait, after the Angels pulled out and the Red Sox disappeared, and all that was left was the Nationals, it was then, after that, when the Yankees suddenly learned of his interest…hmm, sure, that sounds about right…
Update, 3:25 pm:
Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports the Yankees and free-agent 1B Mark Teixeira have reached agreement on an eight-year, $180 million deal.
…great…now let’s move on, Scott Boras…it’s time to talk about Derek Lowe and Manny Ramirez i believe…
…now, the question is: will this motivate the Red Sox to spend additional money on lowe, who the Mets prefer to sign…
Update, 3:20 pm:
The Yankees are on the verge of signing Teixeira to an eight-year deal, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
Original Post:
The Washington Times reports there will be an announcement today about where Mark Teixeira will sign his next contract.
Peter Gammons and Buster Olney of ESPN.com believe a deal is ‘seemingly imminent.’
Meanwhile, the Nationals have upped their offer to Teixeira to nine years, $180 million, reports the Boston Globe, while the Red Sox remain at eight years, and roughly $170 million.
However, while MLB.com believes Teixiera will decide today between the Nationals and Red Sox, Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Yankees are in deep discussions with Teixeira.
Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus each recently ranked SS Wilmer Flores as the Mets second-best prospect, behind Fernando Martinez.
In a post to his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin, who authored the Baseball America report, essentially answers, ‘Who is Flores,’ by providing all sorts of information about the 17–year-old shortstop, who Minor League Ball actually ranked ahead of Martinez.
In 280 minor-league at bats this season, Flores hit .307 with a .347 OBP, 25 extra base hits and 42 RBI in 68 games.
Speaking of prospects…
ESPN.com’s Keith Law e-mailed me to say Mets LHP Nathan Vineyard has not retired, according to a person he talked to inside the Mets organization.
However, he added, “I wouldn’t be shocked if Vineyard did eventually retire, it’s just that I confirmed that he hasn’t done so.”
For more on Vineyard, and talk of him ‘quitting,’ click here.
Tagged Wilmer Flores |
David Wright has agreed to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, according to the New York Post and Daily News.
So far, only Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado have announced that they will participate in the WBC, while Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, Duaner Sanchez and Jose Reyes have all expressed interest, based on previous reports.
I am still uncomfortable with the WBC. I get it, I understand how it can be good for ‘baseball as a business,’ and I understand why certain players would enjoy participating – and the reality is that it only pulls them away from Major-League camp for a few weeks.
However, much like Darryl Strawberry said during a recent interview with WFAN, I believe the WBC distracts from one of the major goals of Spring Training, i.e., allowing players a space to bond, get a sense of team, identity, etc., and create a good synergy before breaking north.
Last night, Roch Kubatko of MASN believes the Nationals may now be offering an eight-year 
deal to Mark Teixeira, worth as much as $184 million.
According to Newsday, the Red Sox still have an eight-year offer on the table, and could up it to $180 million if necessary, though the two sides have not been in contact since last Thursday.
Yesterday, it was reported that the Angels are no longer pursuing Teixeira, while the Yankees and O’s once made offers that are believed to be less than Boston’s.
Why do you care…
The common belief around baseball is that if the Sox land Teixeira, they may less inclined to get in to a bidding war for Derek Lowe, who is believed to be Omar Minaya’s top choice from the list of free-agent starting pitchers.
Jon Heyman of SI.com believes Teixeira could sign by this Thursday, noting that rival executives see the Red Sox as the favorites, while ‘the Yankees remain the wild card.’
