The Washington Post’s Dave Sheinin tells us Nationals team president Stan Kasten is tempering expectations that the Nats will make an offer to free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira.
Sheinin quotes Kasten saying, "I don’t want people to have unrealistic expectations" and "You’re way ahead of us here." Then he offers some analysis:
My own take: The Nationals are still formulating the structure of the offer they plan to make to Teixeira. However, they also know they cannot compete with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox and/or Angels when it comes to dollar figures. So they would like to get a better sense of Teixeira’s true market before they make their pitch.
It’s possible the Nationals will never get around to offering Teixeira a contract. The Yankees could start the bidding sky high, like they did with CC Sabathia.
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com and can be reached here.
