No Tex in Beantown?
Word broke late last night that the Boston Red Sox, after meeting with free agent Mark Teixeira in Texas, have taken themselves out of the running for his services.
Red Sox owner John Henry issued a simple statement to the media.
“We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him,” Henry said. “After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor.”
So, if we believe this statement, the frontrunners are out of the bidding altogether.
Word is the Red Sox have an offer of eight years and about $180 million on the table. Some writers have speculated that the Los Angeles Angels have a similar offer while the Washington Nationals may be offering 10 years and more than $200 million.
Granted, the Red Sox do not need Mark Teixeira; he’d be a luxury. Moreover, they have an excellent firstbase prospect, Lars Anderson, on the way. But you have to wonder if this is a negotiating ploy by Henry and general manager Theo Epstein. Teixeira would fit into the Boston lineup beautifully and provide insurance in case David Ortiz or J.D. Drew hit the D.L.
Meanwhile, Torii Hunter, the Angels centerfielder, told reporters that Big Tex told him the Angels had blown everyone away in their bid to keep Tex. Being that it’s no secret how much Hunter is lobbying to keep Teixeira, it’s hard to take the statement at face value.
Despite, the media buying the Red Sox’ statement, the belief here is the Red Sox remain the frontrunners. The statement is nothing more than a negotiating ploy. Boston knows it has a solid offer that’s better than or as good as most of the others. They knew making a statement in time for the Friday newpapers would mean maximum coverage of their “bowing out” of the bidding. Their hope is that people keep talking about it all weekend and that the exposure puts pressure on Teixeira to look at what Boston can offer him.
It’s hard to argue that playing with the Red Sox would give Big Tex his best shot at a world championship. Winners of two of the last five World Series, Boston has a great big league team and a tremendous farm system. They are stocked with quality young starting pitchers and have one of the game’s premier closers in Jonathan Papelbon. What gives the Red Sox the advantage in the negotiations is the fact that they don’t need Teixeira. They refuse to portray themselves as a desperate team, because they aren’t. The Angels need Tex far more than Boston does. Essentially, the Red Sox are banking on the fact that their organization can sell itself and that Teixeira will chose the most successful team in baseball as his new home.
Boston is out of the bidding for Big Tex? Don’t bet on it.
