With star pitcher C.C. Sabathia signing the biggest contract for a pitcher in history Wednesday morning, Major League Baseball's winter meetings were officially underway.
And with the top prize off the market, all the attention has been placed on 28-year old Mark Teixeira. The first baseman - a native of Severna Park, Maryland - was coveted by many teams before this week, but no offers were made.
On Wednesday, that all changed. For hours, there was rampant speculation about who had offered Teixeira a contract, and for how much. Just about every expert predicted Teixeira would sign with the L.A. Angels, the team who traded for him at this past trading deadline. The first offer he recieved, however, was from the Washington Nationals, a team rumored to have interest all offseason long. Their offer (8 years, $160 million) is still the largest offer on the table, but many believe Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos covets the first baseman so much that he will offer a contract around $200 million, exactly what Teixeira's agent Scott Boras wants.
The breakdown of the offers, via MLBtraderumors.com:
Nationals: 8 years, $160 million
Orioles: 7 years, $140-150 million
Angels: (updated) 8 years, $160 million (possibly more)
Red Sox: not concrete numbers
According to the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles are unwilling to up their offer, despite not being the highest. This could just be a smokescreen, but it's very possible the Orioles believe Teixeira would take a hometown discount.
The Angels, apparently, will not offer an 8th year, and will look towards trading options (Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, or Adrian Beltre) or free agent Raul Ibanez if Boras will not budge from his 8-year contract demands. It is rumored the Angels have already dropped out of the race in favor of Ibanez or a trade.
That really just leaves the Nationals and Red Sox. Let me break down why I think Teixeira should sign with the Nationals.
First, the Nationals are offering the most money. If he wants to follow the money, right now, the Nationals have the most of it.
Second, the Nationals are close to home. It has been reported that his wife wants to stay on the East Coast (we saw how that worked for Sabathia, but in this case, an East-Coast team has a competitive offer). The Red Sox are also on the East Coast, but if you're going to sign with an Eastern team, why not play 30 minutes from your hometown?
Third, Teixeira would be the face of the franchise. In Boston, he would be just another cog in the machine, sharing facetime with David Ortiz, Josh Beckett, Jason Bay, Dice-K, etc. In D.C., he would be top dog. He would be their franchise player. Ryan Zimmerman would become the #2 offensive option and the burdens the young third baseman carries as the franchise player would be made easier.
And fourth, the Nationals are building to be a dynasty in the N.L. East. Their rotation is young and their top prospects are just beginning to see the major leagues. Thier lineup has 5 players under the age of 26, and 2 more players - Austin Kearns and Josh Willingham - under the age of 30 (28 and 29, respectively). The only starter over the age of 30 is shortstop Christian Guzman, who turned 30 in March. Teixeira would stablize the first base position for the next eight years as the young team grows.
Mark Teixeira could sign with the Red Sox, or any other team for that matter. He has a much higher chance of winning a World Series in Boston or L.A. (or New York) than in Washington. But in D.C., he'd have a chance to lead a team to a championship. He'd be a fan favorite and a wonderful story.
Time will only tell if he does decide to sign with the Nationals. But for the first time, Nationals fans have a reason to be excited in December.
Update: According to mlb.com, the Angels have decided to up their offer to match the Nationals' offer. This makes it very interesting and now throws the Angels back into the mix. Also, there are no confirmed offers from the Red Sox...is their interest just a Scott Boras' creation, used to up to offers?
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5 comments:
the nationals are nowhere near building for a dynasty. their farm system is decent, and the players they have now are pitiful, and i somewhat include ryan zimmerman in that.
that's completely false. thier farm system - at least in # of wins - was near the tops of the majors.
like i said in the post, thier entire lineup is young. Zimmerman is 24 and hit .288 last season after a terrible start and an injury. Milledge hit .266 but hit .299 after the all-star break. He's 24. Dukes is a monster at 24..he hit .264 (OPS of .864) with 13 HR and 44 RBI in a mere 81 games...not to mention a .971 OPS post all-star break. Jesus Flores is 24 and hit .370 with RISP. I could go on and on.
Thier top position players of the future are already in the majors (well, mostly, I'm not counting Michael Burgess, who won the A league home run derby nor Chris Marrero, who was turning it on before his injury in the middle of the season).
Thier top pitchers are still in the minors (except for a few, like Lannan and Balester), but they have depth and are continuing to add to it.
I mean, they are a young team that has a bright future. Brighter than the Orioles, at least. Teixeira wouldn't win a division, let alone a World Series, in Baltimore, barring a miracle.
haha i didnt even mention baltimore at all...and i would say the nats are like 5 years away from being serious competitors, and teixieira does not want to wait 5 years, he has been waiting his whole career
well thats the thing, does he really want to win with a team like boston, or help build a team close to home in the Nats/O's?
it'll be interesting to see what he decides on..and I think he goes to the highest bidder. Which right now is the Nats, with the O's wary of upping their offer.
and not to rub it in, i really didnt know anything about either team's system, but keith law just put the o's at #10 for farm systems and the nats at 29...so i think the o's will be the better team for years to come but their division is just too good.
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