Jason Varitek And Scott Boras Are Tight

From the ProJo:

Curt Schilling, who has moved his blog to WEEI.com, was asked about Boras by WEEI’s Rob Bradford in his online forum.

“Bottom line is, if you want to scrap every penny you can from the bottom of the barrel, leave nothing on the table, he’s your guy,” wrote Schilling. “That being said, I’ve spoken at length with [Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek] about [Boras] . . . [Varitek is] a guy I have a ton of respect for, and Jason considers him a very close friend, so that means something to me.”

Angels Withdraw Offer To Mark Teixeira

According to multiple reports, the Los Angeles Angels have withdrawn their offer to first basement Mark Teixeira. It has been learned that Angels owner Arte Moreno believes that Teixeira’s agent, Scott Boras was just using them to drive up the price. It’s been long said that Teixeira wants to play on the east coast, now that is likely to happen. Look for the Angels to go after closer Brian Fuentes and possilby make a run at Manny Ramirez. More from Yahoo! Sports:

The Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon withdrew their offer to free-agent slugger Mark Teixeira and do not intend to continue negotiations with his agent, according to a source close to the negotiations.

Believed to have offered about $160 million over eight seasons, the Angels became the second team in recent days to declare the price on Teixeira to be too steep. The Boston Red Sox reached a similar decision Thursday night after meeting with Teixeira and agent Scott Boras. Team owner John Henry issued a statement that concluded, “ … we are not going to be a factor,” though evidence suggests negotiations are not dead.

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.

Also, a source said the Red Sox have not spoken to Boras since Thursday night, when Henry issued his statement.

A source told Yahoo! Sports on Sunday that the Angels would not re-enter the bidding for Teixeira, whom they acquired from the Atlanta Braves at the trade deadline in July.

Yankees To Offer Manny Ramirez Contract

Who knows, maybe next season Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez will be sitting next to each other in the same dugout because according to the NY Daily News, Ramirez expects at least a three-year offer from the Yankees. The slugger maybe confident of the offer, but its unlikely. Yankees GM, Brian Cashman has long been leery of Ramirez, if perhaps his price tag drops the Yankees could be interested. But not for three-years. Although, its entirely possible that Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner could get involved in the mix and that may change the situation. More from NY Daily News:

According to a source, Ramirez has told friends that he is confident the Yankees will offer him a contract of at least three years, one year longer than most team officials have said they would want to go.

Ramirez has no plans to get serious about any offers until after Mark Teixeira – a fellow Scott Boras client – makes a decision regarding his own future. Ramirez has already turned down a two-year, $45 million offer from the Dodgers and has told friends he is seeking a four-year deal in the $100 million range.

Should Teixeira return to Anaheim, the Yankees and Dodgers figure to be the main competitors for Ramirez. But if Teixeira signs with the Red Sox, the Angels would likely throw themselves in the mix, making it a wide-open race.

Ramirez has been a hot topic inside the Yankees organization, according to a source, although not everybody within the team’s hierarchy is in agreement when it comes to signing the enigmatic slugger.

Hank Steinbrenner is leading the charge for the signing, the source said, hoping to reload his roster after watching the Yankees miss the postseason this year for the first time since 1993. Hal Steinbrenner is said to be warming to the idea, while general manager Brian Cashman isn’t too high on adding a 36-year-old outfielder with plenty of baggage.

More Mark Teixeira News

From Ken Rosenthal:

Whether Teixeira joins the Red Sox or another club is an open question. Whether he merits $180 million over eight years — or whatever the final number will be — is another subject of debate.

For now, though, we’re in the familiar Scott Boras Staredown Phase, in which an ardent suitor attempts to call the legendary agent’s bluff.

The Sox are experienced at this game.

Boras stuck it to them in Dec. 2005, when Johnny Damon signed with the Yankees without giving the Red Sox a chance to match New York’s offer, according to Sox owner John Henry.

The Sox struck back in Dec. 2006, when team officials flew to Boras’ home turf in Southern California and forced him to accept a take-it-or-leave it proposal for Daisuke Matsuzaka.

The shenanigans resumed Thursday night. First, news broke that Sox officials were meeting with Boras in Texas. But at 10:45 p.m. ET, Henry issued a sad lament to selected reporters via e-mail.

“We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him,” Henry said. “After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor.”

Cue the violins. And check back in an hour.

Wherever Teixeira ends up, and Boston is still the best guess, his deal is certain to exceed the eight-year, $160 million deal that Ramirez signed with the Red Sox in 2000 — a deal that included $31 million in deferred payments, significantly reducing its present-day value.

From Jon Heyman:

The Red Sox haven’t given up on the idea of signing Mark Teixeira, according to multiple baseball sources.

They are just taking a break from the bidding.

Though Boston’s chances to land the multitalented free-agent slugger may have diminished slightly after the sides failed to make progress in their high-powered Texas meeting Thursday night, few baseball people believe the Red Sox are completely out of the picture.

At least a half-dozen baseball executives with some knowledge of the process suggested to SI.com that the Red Sox remain interested in Teixeira and are merely intent on sticking to their last proposal (which one source pegged at close to but probably not more than $180 million for eight years). While none of these people were in the room in Dallas where Red Sox owner John Henry and general manager Theo Epstein met with Teixeira and his agent, Scott Boras, they all have some peripheral knowledge of the negotiations.

Several of these baseball executives suggested Henry and Epstein could merely be engaging in a game of poker with Boras, and all said they believed the Red Sox still would like to land Teixeira, the biggest free-agent prize among everyday players.

Henry e-mailed reporters late Thursday and said, “We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed by him. After hearing about the other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor.”

Several subsequent headlines indicated the Red Sox had pulled out of the Teixeira sweepstakes. But the executives suggested all Henry meant is that he is sticking to his number and is not intending to bid higher. In other words, he is calling Boras’ perceived bluff but remaining in the high-stakes game.

Mark Teixeira

In the next few days, Mark Teixeira WILL sign with the Boston Red Sox. It’s a lock. This little dance that the Red Sox and Teixeira’s agent, Scott Boras are doing is nothing but a smokescreen. Boras is just trying to finagle a couple more dollars out of the Red Sox and possibly get an opt-out clause in the contract. Neither of which will happen. From the looks the things, the Red Sox have offered the largest contract to Teixeira, contrary to what people may have heard. Only exception possibly being the Washington Nationals. And Boras isn’t going to send the first basemen to baseball’s version of Tikrit. The comments made last night by Red Sox owner John Henry was just his way of trying to expedite the process. And get a deal done. There has been talk the Angels offer was better than the Red Sox, but according to the LA Times, that’s not the case:

Scott Boras, who represents the free agent, traveled to Teixeira’s Westlake, Texas, home and met Thursday night with Henry, Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino and General Manager Theo Epstein.

The Red Sox were believed to have offered Teixeira an eight-year deal in the $175-million range, and a source who is familiar with negotiations but is not authorized to speak about them on the record said it was “significantly” better than the Angels’ offer.

Angels GM Tony Reagins confirmed that the team made an eight-year offer to Teixeira at last week’s winter meetings. Though financial terms were not disclosed, the offer was believed to be in excess of $160 million.

Mark Teixeira

From Boston.com:

“We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him. After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor.”

From Boston Herald:

“The Boston ownership was kind enough to request and travel to meet with Mark Teixeira. While it was a very positive meeting Mark was candid and advised he is in the process of making a decision and is now attempting to eliminate teams.”

From LA Times:

The Red Sox were believed to have offered Teixeira an eight-year deal in the $175-million range, and a source who is familiar with negotiations but is not authorized to speak about them on the record said it was “significantly” better than the Angels’ offer.

Informed of Henry’s e-mail later Thursday evening, Reagins called it “an interesting turn of events. . . . Beyond that, I have no knowledge of it, so it wouldn’t be fair to comment about it.”

Hunter’s mood brightened considerably when told of Henry’s e-mail. Earlier Thursday, when told Red Sox officials were meeting Teixeira at his home, Hunter said, “That [stinks]. I definitely want him to come back. He made us complete. I know we were up by 11 games when we got him, but he made us that much better.”

Later in the evening, Hunter, who tried to call Teixeira this week and sent him a text-message Thursday night, felt a lot more confident about the Angels’ chances of retaining Teixeira.

From Newsday:

The reports are that the Red Sox are closing in on a deal for Mark Teixeira. I can’t confirm that but I can confirm that the Yankees have not made an offer to Teixeira. I was told that by multiple parties this afternoon, and exchanged several emails with Hal Steinbrenner this evening. He said they have not made an offer to Teixeira, and not to expect one in the next few hours.

From Washington Post:

The Nationals appear to be one of the last three teams with a reasonable shot at the first baseman, according to industry sources. The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels — widely considered Teixeira’s more likely landing spots — both offer him the chance to play for ready-made contenders. The Nationals offer Teixeira, from Severna Park, the chance to come home. Nationals President Stan Kasten said only that the team was “examining numerous possibilities,” including “alternatives” — though he didn’t reference Teixeira by name. Kasten did not address whether Washington would be willing to bolster its contract offer, perhaps by lengthening it to the 10-year deal Boras initially sought for his client.

John Henry told the Boston Herald in an e-mail that his franchise would not be willing to offer Teixeira — or any other player — a 10-year deal, especially in such a “challenging economic environment.”

Mark Teixeira

From Jon Heyman:

One source said he believed that Boston was in for close to $180 million over eight years and the Angels in for about the same. The Nats may be as high, or even higher than that. Some suggest they have either hit the $200 million mark, or gotten very close. Or that someone else has.

It’s Better For Manny If Teixeira Signs In Boston

From Jon Heyman:

The Yankees are in on the Mark Teixeirasweepstakes but don’t appear overly optimistic to outbid the determined Angels or Red Sox. Should the Yankees lose out for Teixeira, who’s drawing interest from the perennially also-ran Nationals and Orioles in addition to the three aforementioned clubs, they seem ready to pounce for Manny Ramirez.

There are those suggesting the Yankees are only in the running for Teixeira to either monitor the rival Red Sox or drive up the price for the switch-hitting slugger. But while it’s true the Yankees don’t appear as eager to sign Teixeira as the Angels and Red Sox, they do appear willing to sign him at the right price.

While the Yankees have a trio of accomplished corner outfielders — Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Xavier Nady -- they appear to love the idea of Manny and could still utilize Damon in centerfield on occasion.

If Teixeira goes to the Red Sox, Ramirez’s market becomes that much better because the Angels become a possibility for his services as well as the Yankees and incumbent Dodgers. If Teixeira stays in Anaheim, Ramirez loses a little leverage since the Red Sox don’t want him back. Boston’s resolve to win Teixeira is heightened since they don’t have a viable fallback option like Ramirez.

Teixeira’s agent, Scott Boras, has been telling teams he envisions Teixeira closer to Alex Rodriguez ($27.5 million, or $30.5 million annually, depending whether you count the performance bonuses)

The perfect scenario for agent Scott Boras is to have the Red Sox sign Mark Teixeira. Because no matter what, Teixeira will get his money. But with that, then the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, maybe even the Nationals and Orioles could get into a bidding war for the services of Manny. Too date, there hasn’t been much interest in the slugger, but once Teixeira signs that will change, and Red Sox won’t be bidding on Manny, so that would takes out a big spending club which hurts Boras’s leverage. If Teixeira say signs with the Angels or Nationals, then basically Manny is left to the Dodgers and the Yankees (maybe), not the number of teams bidding on him that Boras would like. So, look for Teixeira too sign late this week with a team, most likely the Red Sox, and after Christmas let the Manny Ramirez frenzy begin.

Teixeira Is Getting Closer To Making Up His Mind

From WEEI.com:

Karl Ravech of ESPN reported that he had checked in with someone close to the Teixeira negotiations. According to Ravech’s source, the first baseman, who is the prize of the free-agent market, is in negotiations with five teams: the Angels, Nationals, Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees. Using the standards set by Torii Hunter’s five-year, $90 million deal and Alex Rodriguez’ 10-year, $275 million deal–both of which were signed last offseason–Ravech reported that Teixeira is in line for an eight-year deal of $22 million to $28 million per season.

Here is a transcript of Ravech’s comments this morning on ESPN:

“The five teams that have always been pursuing him—the Angels, RS, Yankees, Nationals and Orioles—continue to be the five teams pursuing him. Someone very familiar with the negotiations said, it’s almost fascinating what’s happened. Every time one team steps up its offer, the other four teams do the same thing. It appears as if the idea that he wants to play for a competitor in the East, while that’s a priority, it’s almost neutralized by the fact that there’s an enormous attraction to the Orioles. He grew up in Maryland. His family is there. His wife has very, very close ties to that area. There’s something that kind of keeps bringing he and (agent) Scott Boras back to the Orioles as a hometown, ‘I’d love to play for the team I grew up watching,’ (destination).

Obviously, the Orioles and Nationals would love to use him. The Orioles look at Teixeira the same way they did at Ripken for so many years. They’d have this guy as the foundation, as the face of the organization.

“In so many ways, he’s the perfect representative of whatever franchise he goes to. He’s heavy into the workouts, he’s never had any injuries, he’s had no problems off the field to speak of. You understand why these teams would want to get a switch-hitting, great Gold Glove first baseman.”