In an exciting turn of events, the Yankees are reportedly on the verge of signing free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira to an eight year deal worth 180 million dollars. Teixeira is also being pursued by the Nationals, Red Sox, and Orioles. The story was first reported by Jon Heyman of SI.com.
Teixeira, who hit .308 with 33 HR in and 121 RBIs last season, will also receive a full no trade clause. The Yankees remained quiet in negotiations, but were in constant communication with the Teixeira camp. "[Mark Teixeira] Tex is a great clubhouse guy," Torii Hunter told me last week in Las Vegas. Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez were teammates in Texas in 2003, so there shouldn't be too many problems in the Yankee clubhouse.
The signing pushes Nick Swisher back to the outfield, where he didn't have much success in 2007 with the White Sox.