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The push to bring Mark Teixeira to Washington DC continues!Last week, I wrote about why Teixeira should sign with the Washington Nationals instead of the Angels and Red Sox. I'm happy to report that it looks as though the Nationals are one of the last two teams in the running for Teixeira!
Not surprisingly, the Orioles appear to be out of the running because they will not increase their offer.
Surprisingly, the Red Sox appear to be out of the running because their offer has been topped, according to owner John Henry.
With the Red Sox seemingly out of the picture, the Nationals will be competing against the Angels for Teixeira. And no offense to the Nationals or Washington DC, but the Angels have plenty to offer Teixeira: great chance to win, winning culture, lots of talent around him, sunny beaches, etc. If his decision was specifically based around location, the Nationals would have next to no chance to land Teixeira.
However, lucky for the Nationals that Teixeira is a Scott Boras client. Boras clients are notorious for specifically going where the money takes them. If that is the case, then the Nationals only have one option.
Go big.
And when I mean big, I mean really big. With the Angels reported to go as high as 8 years/$160 million to land Teixeira, the Nationals need to take a play from the 2005 Mets playbook and go higher. The Mets never would have landed Carlos Beltran in 2005 if they had not offered him $20 million more than any other team.
If the Nationals go as high as let's say, 8 years/$184 mil or 9 years/$189 mil, will that be enough to seal the deal? Only time will tell, but the Nationals will be putting themselves in a fantastic position to land the cornerstone player they desperately need.
Yes they will need to overpay to bring Teixeira to DC, but this move will change the franchise and give the Nationals the credibility that they do not have. The Nationals must do all they can to outbid the Angels and convince Teixeira and Boras that the Nationals are the best spot.
The only way to do that is to go big. And at this point, what do the Nats have to lose?
4 comments:
From what I can see Boras is proving that when it comes to sound business acumen. He's got absolutely not one iota of it at this moment in time. Texiera goes to the Nationals and within two seasons he'll be out of there for sure. They've never been competitive enough to hold their own within the NL East much less the rest of baseball.
tophatal ............
And here was me thinking that Texeira wants to be on a winning and competitive roster ? He'd rather leave the Angels to play for the Nationals ? Where's the sense in that ?
tophatal ..............
Tophatal,
keep in mind that Teixeira is from Maryland, which might play a role in where he lands. I completely agree with you about the Nationals-their ownership/management has looked incompetent over the past two seasons, but they do have some intriguing pieces (Milledge, Dukes, Zimmerman, Lannan, Flores).
If management commits to spending money, then the Nationals could definitely be competitive.
thanks for the comments!
Josh
I've no doubt that being from the area portends to something good for the player. But at the same time do you honestly think that as a team they've got what it takes and possess the pieces ? They're not even in the league of the Phillies or Mets by way of talent. And if anything management as well as ownership over the years have obfuscated their responsibilities to the their fans by putting a good product on the field.
And with Boras making his nonesensical comments as to the health of the game. It suggests to me that he of all people doesn't know what the hell he's actually talking about ! He's a man of the proverbial idiotic sound byte. Much as in the same way that Drew Rosenhaus and Mel Kiper Jr are within the NFL.
tophatal...........
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