Yankees Sign Teixeira

The New York Yankees certainly are not afraid to spend money. After spending big bucks on CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees added first baseman Mark Teixeira.

Teixeira was expected to decide on a team today, receiving offers from multiple teams. The Yankees and Teixeira agreed to an 8 year $180 million deal.

The Yankees will have a very large payroll in 2009. Sabathia is set to make millions before he throws out the first pitch. Burnett received a very large contract. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are among Yankees players who are have contracts worth over $100 million.

Teixeira spent most of his career with the Texas Rangers before being traded to the Atlanta Braves. Tex was traded before the trade deadline in 2008 to the Los Angeles Angels.

Teixeira, a switch hitter, is a career .290 hitter in 6 seasons in the Major Leagues. He also provides power from both sides of the plate. With 203 career homeruns, Tex has a career .541 SLG. Tex has a career .378 OBP and .919 OPS. To go along with his bat, Tex provides Gold Glove defense at first base.

This offseason alone the Yankees stacked up big time by adding Teixeira and Sabathia alone. With Chien Ming-Wang returning, and even the addition of Burnett, the Yankees improved their rotation. Their lineup is also much stronger with the addition of Teixeira. It's still to early to judge, but the Yankees have made themselves early World Series favorites.

Sabathia Signs with Yankees; Other Updates

CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees agreed to a 7 year deal reportedly worth $161 million which includes an opt-out clause after 3 years.

Sabathia won the 2007 American League Cy Young with the Cleveland Indians. In mid-2008, he was traded to the Brewers. Overall, Sabathia pitched 241 innings with a 2.70 ERA, and 251 SO in 2008.

The Yankees may not be done adding big name pitchers, if nothing else is new. The Yankees extended their offer to A.J. Burnett to 5 years, $60 million. The Yankees must really like pitchers with an abbreviation as their first name. In a 10 year career, Burnett has posted a 3.81 lifetime ERA.

The Washington Nationals are even getting in on the big spending fun. The Nationals proposed an 8 year $160 million offer to free agent Mark Teixeira. Teixeira has a career .290 AVG, .919 OPS and provides great defense.

A small trade similar to the Greg Golson/John Mayberry Jr. trade was made. The Phillies have acquired Ronnie Paulio in exchanged for catcher Jason Jarmaillo. The Phillies would also like to trade Adam Eaton, buying out his contract if necessary.

Not only could a small trade fall through, but a big trade could as well for the Phillies. The deal would involve Jake Peavy going to the Cubs, Mark DeRosa coming to the Phillies in exchange for Carlos Carrasco, J.A. Happ or the most talked about prospect during the Winter Meetings, Jason Donald.

That is the latest from the Winter Meetings.

Teixeira Traded to Angels

Mark Teixeira won't be hurting the Phillies any time soon. Instead, he is headed back to the American League. His new team is the division rival of his former team, the Texas Rangers.

As the trade deadline approaches, the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem and the Atlanta Braves worked out a deal. Mark Teixeira will be headed to the Angels in exchange for first baseman Casey Kotchman, and Minor League pitcher Stephen Marek.

With Mark Teixeira no longer hitting those "knock-out blows" against the Phillies, the Phils will now have to deal with Kotchman. In the Angels visit to Citizens Bank Park in June, Kotchman was 3-11 including a homerun off Cole Hamels, which was the difference in the game.

Teixeira is batting .283 with 20 homeruns and 78 RBI. He has a .390 OBP, .512 SLG, giving him a .902 OPS. Not only does he put up the offense, but he gives Gold Glove defense. Tex has only committed 2 errors this season.

Kotchman is batting .287 with 12 homeruns and 54 RBIs. He has a .327 OBP, .448 SLG, with a .774 OPS. Like Teixeira, Kotchman has only committed 2 errors.

There's no question that Teixiera is the better player in the deal. That is why the Angels threw in 25 year old Marek. In AA Arkansas, he is 2-6 with a 3.66 ERA in 34 relief appearance.

The Angels benefited big time from this trade. They needed another bat in their lineup. They have the pitching, and now they have another bat to go with Vladimir Guerrero. The Angels already have the best record in baseball, and have a comfortable 11.5 game lead in the AL West. In my opinion, this move makes them an easy pick for a World Series favorite. On the other hand, it shows that the Braves are sellers at this trade deadline.