The Market for Teixeira

Now that the Red Sox are reportedly out of the bidding for first baseman Mark Teixeira, let's take a look at the teams pursuing the switch-hitting slugger.

The Nationals:
The Nats offered Teixeira an eight-year, $160 million contract last week, and are awaiting his decision. From what I've heard, the team may be willing to go above and beyond to sign him, and I'd put them in the same category as the Angels in terms of odds.

The Orioles:
The O's have a lot in their favor here. The owner still thinks they have a chance to sign him, and the hometown advantage is always a plus. According to reports, the team made a seven-year offer worth somewhere between $140 and $150 million. They'll have to up their offer, but they still have a good chance of landing him.

The Angels:
The Angels have also made an eight-year deal possibly worth $160 million and are probably the front-runners in the Teixeira race. They have the resources to up their offer and Teixeira is also comfortable with the other players on the team.

The Red Sox:
As of now, the Red Sox are out of the running. This could be a ploy to lower his demands, but because it came from owner John Henry, there could be truth to it. According to several reports, the Red Sox offered him an eight-year deal worth $184 million.

The Yankees:
According to George King, the Yanks are not the team in question that pushed the Red Sox out of the race. However, Hal steinbrenner has not ruled out making an offer to Teixeira or Manny Ramirez. That could be an attempt to drive up the price for other teams, but the fact that the team walked away from the Mike Cameron trade suggests something is going on. It should also be noted that when Brian Cashman told Brewers GM Doug Melvin why he hadn't called back about Mike Cameron, he explained that he "has a lot of things going on." Sounds like another move could be brewing, and I don't think its a Hideki Matsui/Andruw Jones swap.