Tex in Pinstripes
After months of back and forth rumors on where Mark Teixeira would end up, he is a Yankee. While many feel the Yankees off-season of spending is irresponsible, they just picked up the top 3 free agents by some accounts. They are the favorites to win the division, the AL, and the world series. They locked up a 26 year old ace and a 28 year old #3 hitter who happens to be the best defensive first basemen in the league. While their off season may be a little much – over $400 million on 3 guys – however there is no doubt that they got who the wanted, and are probably the best team in baseball. But should they have spent their money on Teixeira? Would Manny Ramirez have been a better fit for the team? These are all legitimate questions.
Manny Ramirez is a pretty good hitter. In 2008 he hit better than anyone in the league except Albert Pujols. But over the last few years he’s been a pretty big drag deffensivly. First of all he plays a corner outfield position, if not DH, which takes away a significant chunk of any deffensive value he may have had. He isn’t that bad, about 5 runs bellow the league average, but he’s certainly not doing anything special at a relatively easy position. Teixeira however was easily the best defensive first basemen in the league. He was 11.7 runs above the average fielder (UZR), that’s over a win he contributes defensively. His offensive and defensive contributions but him in an elite category with Pujols, Lance Berkman, and himself.
Offensively he’s no slouch, and he’s just getting better. His .410 wOBA was the highest of his career. He was also 46.1 runs above average, less than 2 runs below his career high 48 in 2005. He might not have had Many’s monster second half, but he destroyed AL pitching, and over the past few seasons has faired far better than Ramirez. Age certainly played a huge factor. Manny is 36 and even with his great 2008 he’s obviously in a decline. Teixeira is 28 and he’s entering his prime.
Overall I think this is a great deal for the Yankees. Many will criticize them for spending so much, but would you rather have the Steinbrener family pocket the money? The Yankees have the resources to win and they are using them the right way. I am a huge Theo Epstein fan, but in this case Brian Cashman did a better job. Epstein stubbornly let $1.5 million for the next 8 years get in the way of one of the top 5 players in baseball. He could have made the offer yesterday and Tex would be with Boston. Again the Yankees make a really, really good signing at a position of need. This team is going to be pretty good next year, no one can deny that. Furthermore they have used their resources in the most intelligent way possible, spending it on the top under-30 free agents, improving their pitching, offense, and defense, and actually lowering payroll.
Loading ...