A major league baseball source has told The Washington Times’ Thom Loverro that there will be an announcement today regarding the future of free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira.
While the source declined to discuss specifics, there are strong indications that the Red Sox will announce that they have landed the highly-coveted slugger, who has been courted this off-season by several major league clubs, including the Angels, Orioles and Nationals.
The Red Sox have been considered one of the lead contenders in the Teixeira sweepstakes, but it was unclear whether the team would be able to meet the asking price from agent Scott Boras, who had hoped to land a contract for as much as $200 million over ten years. Last week, Red Sox owner John Henry told reporters that the team was no longer pursuing the player, but the statement was widely seen as a negotiating maneuver.
The Orioles and Nationals had hoped to sign him in part because he is a Severna Park, Md. native, and the Nationals were reportedly willing to bid especially hard.
It is still unclear how much the Red Sox offered Teixeira, but there were reports last night that the Nationals had boosted their bid in a last-ditch effort to sign him.
MASN’s Roch Kubatko reported last night that Nationals might have upgraded their offer to the first baseman to an eight-year deal worth between $178 and $184 million.
The Angels earlier this week said they were no longer pursuing him.
We’ll report more as we hear it.
