Teixeira's No Angel

Yesterday, the Angels decided to withdraw their offer (probably 8 years/$160 mil (ish)) to Mark Teixeira effectively taking themselves out of the running for the slugging first baseman. According to Tim Brown of Yahoo.com,

"Sources close to the process said Angels owner Arte Moreno concluded that
Teixeira did not intend to play for the Angels and that his team was being used
to drive up the price for the other interested clubs."

This sounds like a classic play by Teixeira's agent, Scott Boras, to use competition to drive up the price tag on his prized client. However, instead of getting a bigger contract for Teixeira, Boras's high asking price and negotiating tactics have taken the Red Sox and Angels out of the Teixeira sweepstakes. Nice job Mr. Boras.

So what now for Teixeira?

Fear not people, Teixeira will still get his money. Even as the suitors begin to fall, you have to remember that the Nationals are still very much involved in these negotiations. While GM Jim Bowden would probably give an arm and a leg to get Teixeira, we can only speculate the extent to which Teixeira wants to play in Washington.

At this point, the two seem like a perfect match.

The Nationals are willing to offer Teixeira the huge contract he desires. They will probably overpay if need be. If Teixeira goes to the Nationals, it will undoubtedly be because the Nationals offered him the best contract/gave him the most money.

And for Teixeira, the Nationals appear to be the lone serious suitor remaining, which would should make them the instant favorites for his services...right?

Maybe. Depending on how badly Teixeira does not want to play with the Nationals, the field (i.e rest of the league) may not be totally out of these talks. We all know how much Scott Boras loves to use competition to create a market and don't be surprised if that is exactly what he does.

With the Angels now out of the picture, maybe the Red Sox will decide to re-enter the negotiations. Their competition for Teixeira is now greatly reduced thanks to the Angels exit, which could make their previous offer a more serious one for Teixeira's services. Teixeira would be a great fit in Boston, especially for a guy that "loves the East Coast."

And don't forget about the Yankees. I know all reports have stated that they NOT going after Teixeira, but given this scenario with the current economic climate, the Yankees could take advantage of a dwindling market for Teixeira by jumping into these negotiations and signing yet another franchise player. Never count out the Yankees because hey, they're the Yankees.

And as was reported earlier in the week, the Orioles have made an offer to Teixeira as well, but many baseball people believe that their offer was too low. We'll see if the Orioles become players again in the Teixeira sweepstakes. You have to remember that Teixeira is a Maryland native, which could help the Orioles enormously in future negotiations.

If I'm Orioles GM Andy McPhail, I would call up Scott Boras today and increase the offer. This is an opportunity that the Orioles cannot afford to sit on the sidelines for, especially when the rival Nationals are the other main suitor involved.