Hard to Imagine Teixeira in D.C., No Matter the Price

I can see it now: Mark Teixeira standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, agent Scott Boras at his side, conducting his introductory news conference after signing a 10-year, $200 million free-agent contract with the Washington Nationals.

Actually, I can't see it, not when Teixeira has better options — specifically, the Angels, Red Sox and Yankees. But I also remember the 2000 winter meetings, when Alex Rodriguez signed a monster deal with the Texas Rangers, a team that finished 71-91 the previous season.

Boras has met at length with the Nationals' owner, Ted Lerner, and by now Teixeira presumably has, too. Lerner, who made his fortune in real estate development, presided over the Nats' embarrassing inaugural season at Nationals Park and has drawn criticism from current and former employees for his slow embrace of common baseball business practices. Boras, however, sees Lerner and his son, Mark, as sleeping giants in the industry.

"The Lerner family has made it clear that they're going to move forward with the franchise, put their mark on it," Boras says. "They've put great focus on developing the infrastructure of the franchise. They're a family that, with everything they go into, they expect it to be done at a very high level. They intend to be aggressive on many fronts in baseball.

"Certainly, when you have a new family involved in baseball, you have to look at the business practices in their areas of success to really know them. They've certain taken the time to make sure people like myself know who they are and what their plan is. And they have a very good idea what their plan is for the future."

OK, but would Teixeira truly sign with the Nationals, a team that might be several years away from contention? Boras does not rank the chances of teams that are interested in his clients. But if Mr. Teixeira went to Washington, he would be heavily criticized — as A-Rod was in 2000 — for simply selling himself to the highest bidder. And some would view Ted Lerner, fairly or not, as just another soft touch for Boras, an updated version of Tom Hicks.

One other thing: Teixeria's signing with the Nationals would spark a fan revolt in his hometown of Baltimore, where fans would demand to know why the Orioles lost him to an equally downtrodden franchise just 45 miles to the south.

Closer Roulette

The Indians are laying in wait if the market for free-agent closers collapses — a distinct possibility if the Mets acquire the Mariners' J.J. Putz in a trade.

The Mariners still have not signaled that they will move Putz, and the Mets are preparing simultaneous offers to the three top free agents — Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood — according to ESPN.com.

The Mets employed a similar strategy in 2005, making simultaneous offers to two free-agent catchers, Ramon Hernandez and Bengie Molina. When neither jumped, they traded for Paul LoDuca.

The Indians can't spend at the Mets' level, but could become a player for Fuentes if his price dropped to say, two years, $20 million or three years, $24 million — an unlikely scenario, given that the Angels are interested in Fuentes as a replacement for Rodriguez. Trevor Hoffman is another free-agent possibility for the Indians; they nearly signed him in '05.

The Brewers could spend bigger dollars for a closer, but only after they gain clarity on their two free-agent starters, left-hander CC Sabathia and righty Ben Sheets. Signing both — a distinct longshot — would take them out of the closer's market and likely force them to trade first baseman Prince Fielder.

Around the horn

The Mets are desperate to move second baseman Luis Castillo to create a spot for free agent Orlando Hudson. The only way to do it would be to exchange Castillo's contract for another of similar value, but lots of luck. When the Mets asked the Rangers about a Castillo-for-Vicente Padilla — a swap that would require the Rangers to move Ian Kinsler to left field — they were told, "No thank you." ...

Nationals GM Jim Bowden, forever on the prowl for fast, athletic outfielders, has shown interest in Rockies center fielder Willy Taveras. The acquisition of Taveras would enable the Nats to move Lastings Milledge to an outfield corner and/or lead to another trade. The Nationals already are set with Josh Willingham in left and Austin Kearns in right, with Elijah Dukes in reserve ...

Why the Angels need to retain Teixeira: They averaged 4.53 runs per game before acquiring him on July 29, 19th in the majors and ninth in the American League, according to STATS LLC. After his arrival, they averaged 5.09 runs per game, ninth in the majors though still only eighth in the AL ...

While the Rockies' preference is to keep Garrett Atkins, the Twins, Giants and Dodgers are in the market for a power-hitting third baseman, and the Phillies and Angels also could emerge as suitors. Chase Utley has long lobbied Phillies officials to acquire Atkins, his former UCLA teammate, but the team's current third baseman, Pedro Feliz, is coming off lower-back surgery surgery and owed a combined $5.5 million in 2009 salary and a 2010 buyout ...

The Marlins are getting multiple hits not only on infielder Jorge Cantu, but also second baseman Dan Uggla. The team is not eager to trade either, but if the Giants indeed want to trade lefty Jonathan Sanchez for Cantu, the Fish would jump. Cantu, coming off a 29-homer, 95-RBI season, could open at first base for the Marlins next season, allowing top prospect Gaby Sanchez more time to develop. The Dodgers are another team that could pursue Cantu ...

Right-handed hitting outfielders are in relatively scant supply on the trade market. The White Sox's Jermaine Dye is the most attractive, followed by the Brewers' Mike Cameron, Tigers' Marcus Thames and Rangers' Marlon Byrd. Cameron, signed for $10 million next season, still could end up with the Yankees, perhaps reuniting with Sabathia, his good friend and former Brewers teammate. The Red Sox are in the market for a right-handed hitting reserve outfielder, but Cameron surely would prefer to play regularly, and his salary probably disqualifies him from that role.

This article originally published on FOXSports.com.

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