UPDATE: Jon Heyman of SI.com has a nice rundown of the Teixeira suitors. His sources seem to indicate that the chances of a trade are now better than Rosenthal’s 50/50. Good point raised by Heyman and many commenters – even if the Braves wanted to trade Escobar, the Rangers don’t really have a need for a middle infielder.
UPDATE 2: Jim Molony of MLB.com says the Red Sox are the frontrunner. The Rangers have scouted all of their major pitching prospects.
Ken Rosenthal has the latest on Mark Teixeira, who is now 50/50 to be dealt according to one source of his.
Rosenthal describes the scene as the Braves and Angels at the forefront, with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Giants lingering. Evan Grant adds the Dodgers to the mix. He also suggests the Rangers package Joaquin Benoit with Teixeira to get the best possible player. Interestingly, the Yanks might be after Adam Dunn as another first base option. They may have to focus on Dunn, because Jon Daniels is demanding Joba Chamberlain for Teixeira.
The Braves were really trying to shake things up; they would’ve done the Jon Garland for Edgar Renteria deal in tandem with a Teixeira acquisition. The Garland proposal has been rejected, but Teixeira is very much alive. Rosenthal describes the Braves as unwilling to trade Yunel Escobar and reluctant to trade Jarrod Saltalamacchia. In my opinion, Salty is the more valuable player. To me, Escobar for Teixeira is the right move.
I recently talked to ESPN’s Keith Law about Escobar. He told me the glove is there to play shortstop, but he worries about the bat. Based on observation, Law could see Escobar developing into a .300 hitter with little power.
