It is pretty common knowledge now that 1B Mark Teixeira will be making his decision in the next 48 hours. That decision is reportedly down to Boston and Washington. That means, Boston. Don’t count on Teixeira coming to DC because I doubt it will happen.
The Angels, with whom Teixeira starred during the final two months of the regular season and the 2008 American League Division Series loss to the Red Sox, and the Nats are believed to have made offers in the same $160 million range. The Orioles, who as mentioned hold hometown appeal, are probably a little south of that figure.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox have been reported as willing to go as high as $200 million for the man who has been their Most Wanted since the market opened.
Unless the Nationals make a late push effort and trump the Boston offer, which that may not do it either, I mean come on, Boston or DC for baseball, Boston is the likely winner here.
So what happens if when the Nats lose out on Teixeira. What’s the plan? According to CNNSi, there is a
plan.
If the Nationals don’t get Mark Teixeira — and nobody actually thinks they will — baseball sources indicate they will try to sign Orlando Hudson and Adam Dunn instead.
There’s also some speculation the Nats could try for Manny Ramirez, or as one competing baseball executive put, “They may bail out Manny.” That executive was referring to the seemingly slow market for the the free-agent slugger.
Two things. First, the Nationals are not going to outbid the New York Yankees for Manny Ramirez, unless of course, the Yankees reported interest in Ramirez is not real. Of course, if you are going to spend a boatload of cash on Ramirez, while not on the younger Teixeira? I think the other option is more likely. I think the Nationals will chase Adam Dunn. The Nationals have had interest in Dunn since, well, Jim Bowden arrived, given his Reds connection. Dunn is not a .300 hitter, but he is a 40 homer run hitter and a 100 RBI guy. In other words, a power hitter; something the Nationals have not seen in DC since Alfonse Soriano departed for Chicago.
The Nationals are also reportedly interested in Orlando Hudson at second base. This is a bit questionable. I know the Nationals are desperate for a lead off hitter, but I thought they were committed to Anderson Hernandez? What is the point with making acquisitions like Hernandez and Albert Gonzales? Hernandez was supposedly one of the reasons the Nationals were willing to part with Emilio Bonafacio to the Florida Marlins a few weeks ago. Hernandez finished the season at second base and hit .333. In winter ball this season, Hernandez has hit an impressive .371 in 194 at bats. I think what I am trying to figure out is rhyme and reason. Regardless, I do think Adam Dunn will be a National.
Oh, and a statement my my fellow DC Pro Sports Report Blogger, Spence, makes and you can take it to the bank …
Spence thinks we should believe all these reports about the Nats actually spending money when we see the players put on a uniform
Hard to argue with Spence. Given the spending habits of the Lerner’s thus far in their young ownership, they have not shown a willingness to depart with funds to improve the team. The Nationals in the past have been involved in rumor mills with prized free agents, but when it comes down to actually expending the cash, the Nationals also seem to walk with nothing.
The guys at Bleacher Report seem to be where I am on the Teixeira/Dunn issue. MLB Trade Rumors list the Nationals as interested in P Daniel Cabrera. Not sure I buy that. Credit to them, they did infer the interest was past interest.
We’ll update more later.
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