From what Kat O’Brien heard from a source, it seems like the Yankees weren’t going to play the Boras Game with Mark Teixeira. Here’s the source’s account:
Even Tuesday, hours before Teixeira agreed to terms, the Yankees were pessimistic about getting the 28-year-old slugger, the source said. Boras told the Yankees they needed a 10-year deal, with the last two years as player options. That got an absolute no from the Yankees, who had offered eight years and $180 million ($22.5 million per year).
Around midday Tuesday, Boras said Teixeira would agree to an eight-year contract, but only if the average annual value was $24 million per year, making the total contract value $192 million. The Yankees conferred, then told Boras no, that they had made a fair yet firm offer and would stand pat, the source said. Boras responded by saying that Teixeira likely would be a Red Sox.
The Yankees refused to budge from their offer, and 20 minutes later, Boras called back and said Teixeira would take their eight-year, $180-million offer.
Also working in the Yanks favor, according to Murray Chass, is that “[Teixeira] and his wife, especially his wife, didn’t want to live in Boston.” Boras says that the issue wouldn’t have disqualified Boston, but that’s easy to say after the fact.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.