Red Sox lose out to Yankees on Mark Teixeira

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, highly coveted free agent 1B Mark Teixeira has reached an agreement on an eight-year contract with the New York Yankees. The deal is believed to be worth between $170 and $180 million, and includes a $5 million signing bonus and a full no-trade clause. Teixeira had also received offers from the Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels, and Washington Nationals before opting to accept a late offer from New York. On Thursday, Red Sox principal owner John Henry said the Red Sox had been outbid for Teixeira and were "not going to be a factor" in signing him, although the team was believed to have remained as serious suitors for the slugger. The Angels pulled their offer off the table Sunday night.

Teixeira, 28, put together a combined .308/.410/.552 line with 41 doubles, 33 home runs, and 121 RBI in 157 games last season, splitting time between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels. Teixeira also put together a .467/.550/.467 line in 4 games during the Angels’ 2008 divisional series match-up against the Red Sox. Because Teixeira was a Type A Free Agent, the Angels will receive the Yankee’s first-round selection (approximately 26th overall) in the 2009 Draft. The Angels will also receive a pick in the first supplemental round (approximately 44th overall) as compensation for losing Teixeira. New York has also surrendered its second round pick to the Milwaukee Brewers for signing LHP CC Sabathia, as well as their third round pick to the Toronto Blue Jays for signing RHP AJ Burnett.

A two-time Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award winner and 2005 American League All-Star, Teixeira was originally chosen out of high school by the Red Sox in the ninth round (265th overall) of the 1998 Draft, but did not sign. He was later selected fifth overall by the Texas Rangers in 2001 after an impressive college career with Georgia Tech. The Severna Park, Maryland native has career .290/.378/.541 numbers with 203 home runs and 676 RBI in 6 seasons with Texas, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.

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