Teixeira, Braves Talking Extension?

Some signings of interest and possible free agent movement to take notice of.

Mark Teixeira got his money for 2008, but the Atlanta Braves are reportedly making efforts to retain the talented first baseman long term. From Rotoworld:

General manager Frank Wren said Thursday that the Braves have "had quite a bit of dialogue" with Mark Teixeira regarding a long-term contract extension. Eligible for free agency following the season, Teixeira avoided arbitration by agreeing Thursday to a one-year deal worth $12.5 million. With Scott Boras as his agent, there's speculation that Teixeira is looking to hit the open market next winter.

With Jason Giambi coming off the books after the season, then Yankees are guaranteed to be players in the Teixeira sweepstakes, barring of course, a surprising signing made by the Braves. One issue has yet to be brought up with a potential pursuit of Teixeira by the Yankees. Considering Boras' egomania and greed, aftershocks from his bitter exclusion from the Alex Rodriguez negotiations will surely carry over into any talks of Tex.

On the pitching front, Octavio Dotel is now off the market, though the Yankees did not appear to have much interest in the righthander. Dotel agreed to a two year contract with the White Sox worth $11 million, according to Impact Deportivo. From Rotoworld:

Dotel will have done quite well if he gets a guaranteed two-year deal for that much money despite not throwing more than 30 2/3 innings in a season since 2004. He showed that injuries haven't sapped him of dominant stuff in limited action last season and would potentially give the White Sox an elite late-inning setup man in front of closer Bobby Jenks.

Kenny Williams and the ChiSox has the rest of Major League Baseball scratching their heads. Including the four year deal given to Scott Linebrink, Chicago's ponied up $30 million on declining/oft-injured relievers this offseason.

This is a lot of risk. The reward could be great, creating an elite setup and closing staff. However, the risk is equally great, resulting in a volatile bullpen based around a TJ recovery case without much post-op success and a career national leaguer who's seen his numbers steadily decline outside of his huge home ballpark.