Mark Teixeira could be moving from the Angels to Red Sox
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It is very bad news for the Angels, if true: Mike Lynch, from Channel 5 (WCVB TV) in Boston, is reporting today that Red Sox owner John Henry, General Manager Theo Epstein and CEO Larry Lucchino will meet agent Scott Boras tonight at the Texas home of free agent Mark Teixeira with the hopes of signing the slugging first baseman to an eight-year deal, possibly worth $184 million.
Teixeira has been the Angels’ top priority this winter, and Angels General Manager Tony Reagins confirmed that the team made an eight-year offer to the switch-hitter. In 54 games after a July 29 trade from Atlanta, Teixeira batted .358 with a .449 on-base percentage, 13 home runs and 43 runs batted in.
Reagins wouldn’t divulge the value of the offer, but it is believed to be in excess of $160 million and possibly close to $180 million.
The Angels see Teixeira, a two-time Gold Glove winner, as the cornerstone of their lineup for the next eight years, and to lose him to the rival Red Sox, who have beaten the Angels in the American League division series three times in the last five seasons, would be a crippling blow.
Not only would Teixeira, who is said to favor the East Coast, provide a huge boost to Boston, his loss would leave the Angels with another gaping hole in their lineup, one they thought they had finally filled last summer, and could relegate the Angels to a team with division-winning but not World Series-winning potential.
-- Mike DiGiovanna