A little Teix note...

From about half-way down on this page.

Marked for departure?
When the Braves signed first baseman Mark Teixeira to a one-year, $12.5 million deal, it may have just put off the inevitable loss of him in free agency. Teixeira, a player the Red Sox tried to deal for when he was in Texas, will likely command a salary of $20 million per year. His agent is Scott Boras, who couldn't get the Braves to bite on a long-term deal for Andruw Jones. The Braves should contend in the NL East, but if they don't, there could be a trading-deadline deal involving the slugging first baseman.

First off, Andruw was not in the long-term plans so the fact Boras couldn't get the Braves to "bite" is hardly some big surprise. But the Braves invested five prospects in Teix and two months of Ron Mahay. That would seem to indicate that Teix is in the long-term plans for sure.

On the other hand...Teix is hard to picture as a long-term fixture for the Braves as much as he is easy to picture as a long-term fixture. Consider that after this year, the Braves have $36M already figured in for next year _if_ the options for Smoltz/Chipper was either vested or picked up, which is very likely. So add $20M to that and you are at $56M with room to still get a player.

But I am warming up to the idea of letting Teix go and spend that money on starting pitching. In Matt Diaz, the Braves have a capable replacement to Teix. While Diaz won't match Teix in power, he will be good enough to keep the position from being a weakness. Factor in Kala Kaaihue and if he can ever reach his potential, the position becomes a strength. And if you are concerned that Diaz at first would be a problem because of power, the Braves will be getting plus-power for the position at second.

Though...having Teix long-term would be pretty sweet.