Sunday's Teixeira Rumors

First from Kevin Kernan:

The Yankees are in this game, make no mistake. The Red Sox are not completely out either, despite owner John Henry's e-mail claiming otherwise. The Yankees, according to multiple industry sources, have had serious conversations with Boras about Teixeira and will continue those talks. They have yet to put their best offer on the table.

Mr. Kernan, like myself, feels that Teixeira would be almost a perfect fit for this team:

Adding Teixeira would help in so many ways. His on-base percentage was .410. Alex Rodriguez led the Yankees with a .392 mark. Teixeira hit 33 home runs. His presence in the lineup would make A-Rod that much more valuable. This is no different than having David Ortiz and Ramirez. Ortiz has not been the same without Manny.

Teixeira is younger than Manny and offers two big advantages, his defense at first and he's a power-oriented switch-hitter.

Think of the success the Yankees had when they had Bernie Williams in such a role. Older fans can think back to the success of switch-hitter Mickey Mantle anchoring the lineup. A power switch-hitter gives a manager so many more options. During his prime, Jorge Posada offered much in that department.

Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times had this to say:

The Yankees are interested in signing Teixeira, according to two people in baseball with knowledge of the matter, but for the moment are unwilling to pay him more than $160 million over eight years, one of them said.

And Kat O'Brien confirms that the Yankees and Boras did speak on Friday, but it was Boras who initiated the conversation:

One source said Boras gave Cashman an estimate of what it would cost to land Teixeira, a superb defensive and offensive first baseman. The ballpark figure reportedly was about $22 million to $23 million per year on an eight-year contract, for a total of $180 million to $185 million.

The source said Boras wanted to give the Yankees an opportunity to make an offer. The Yankees currently do not have an offer on the table for Teixeira.

...A source said the Yankees have not ruled out making an offer for Teixeira, saying: "We're debating it. Some in the organization want to do it."

So there is your Sunday Mark Teixeira related articles. Kind of interesting.

It would seem that the Yankees are weighing their options right now and may be willing to make an offer for Teixeira depending on what other teams do. If the highest offer remains at $180 for 8 years I think the Yanks might beat that. But from everything I've read I doubt that they will go as high as $200 million, and they won't go more than 8 years.

There was also a report yesterday that said that Teixeira would likely make his decision in the next few days.