Texas gets better
Looking at the Rangers-Braves trade of Teixeira, it's hard to see how this doesn't make the Rangers better. They get essentially the top prospects in the Braves system in areas they need most- catcher and pitching, and get to shed salary in the process.
It's obvious the Braves are trying to win this year. They look at the NL landscape and don't see anyone that scares them, and I agree with the strategy while Smoltz, Chipper, Jones etc... are still around. This trade actually works for both sides.
Having said that, I don't really care about the Braves. I'm an M's fan first, and this clearly works for Daniels and the Rangers FO. I'd make that trade in a heartbeat.
While Teixeira is a nice hitter, he's one of those classic "love em when their cheap" kind of players. If he comes up from your farm system and costs practically nothing, hitting 20 homers and playing great defense he's a huge asset (Jones anyone!!). However, when that player starts costing you ten million a year, the equation changes.
All teams not called the Yankees have a finite budget. When a players consumes a larger and larger portion of your budget, their value must increase as well. Put simply, Teixeira is great at $4 million. At $10 million (or whatever Boras will get) he suddenly starts taking up 15-20% of your budget, and you've got a problem. He's not worth it. A little like Willis- has a name but his numbers don't quite match the hype. (don't get me wrong, Teixeira's a nice player, but not $100 million contract nice)
It's the classic 'sell high' strategy and the Rangers played it perfectly. It's too bad the old regime wasn't in Texas, they probably would have signed him to an extension.
This is the strongest sign yet one of our competitors is getting better.
Looking at the Rangers-Braves trade of Teixeira, it's hard to see how this doesn't make the Rangers better. They get essentially the top prospects in the Braves system in areas they need most- catcher and pitching, and get to shed salary in the process.
It's obvious the Braves are trying to win this year. They look at the NL landscape and don't see anyone that scares them, and I agree with the strategy while Smoltz, Chipper, Jones etc... are still around. This trade actually works for both sides.
Having said that, I don't really care about the Braves. I'm an M's fan first, and this clearly works for Daniels and the Rangers FO. I'd make that trade in a heartbeat.
While Teixeira is a nice hitter, he's one of those classic "love em when their cheap" kind of players. If he comes up from your farm system and costs practically nothing, hitting 20 homers and playing great defense he's a huge asset (Jones anyone!!). However, when that player starts costing you ten million a year, the equation changes.
All teams not called the Yankees have a finite budget. When a players consumes a larger and larger portion of your budget, their value must increase as well. Put simply, Teixeira is great at $4 million. At $10 million (or whatever Boras will get) he suddenly starts taking up 15-20% of your budget, and you've got a problem. He's not worth it. A little like Willis- has a name but his numbers don't quite match the hype. (don't get me wrong, Teixeira's a nice player, but not $100 million contract nice)
It's the classic 'sell high' strategy and the Rangers played it perfectly. It's too bad the old regime wasn't in Texas, they probably would have signed him to an extension.
This is the strongest sign yet one of our competitors is getting better.
posted by Tom at
12:34 PM
