ESPN.com is reporting that Mark Teixeira's representatives are meeting with the Red Sox from office this evening with hopes of finalizing their deal. A Boston tv station reports that owner John Henry, team president Larry Lucchino and GM Theo Epstein travelled to Texas to meet with Tex and his agent, Scott Boras.
Reading these stories it certainly has an air of finality to it.
The question, if the reports are true, is: Where do the Nats got from here? They identified Teixeira as a "once in a lifetime" type of player and were obviously willing to break the bank for him. That does not mean that they view anyone else on the market the same.
All the elite pitching is gone. There isn't anyone left that the Nats would call a building block. There are useful hitters available, but with the exception of Adam Dunn, most are of the couple-of-years left category, not someone the team would envision carrying the team for the next six-to-eight years or so.
Do they envision Dunn in that manner? If not, is it worth the cash it would take to sign him to a two, three or four year contract? Is it worth the effort? Dunn is an on base machine, but he does have his liabilities, namely his defense and contact rates.
Should the Nats sign Dunn to help make the team a little more palatable until some of their young talent grows up? Would the acquisition of Dunn help in that educational process? Should the Nats conserve their cash for another day and concentrate on next year's amateur draft?
I don't have the answers. Dunn would make the team more interesting in the sense that he's a lock to hit 40 homers and reach base at a .375 clip, both areas that the Nats are significantly lacking. But he's a stop-gap. Not a cornerstone.
Cincinnati has been fairly terrible the last couple of years with Dunn in the lineup. Is the Nats lineup any different than the Reds?
Reading these stories it certainly has an air of finality to it.
The question, if the reports are true, is: Where do the Nats got from here? They identified Teixeira as a "once in a lifetime" type of player and were obviously willing to break the bank for him. That does not mean that they view anyone else on the market the same.
All the elite pitching is gone. There isn't anyone left that the Nats would call a building block. There are useful hitters available, but with the exception of Adam Dunn, most are of the couple-of-years left category, not someone the team would envision carrying the team for the next six-to-eight years or so.
Do they envision Dunn in that manner? If not, is it worth the cash it would take to sign him to a two, three or four year contract? Is it worth the effort? Dunn is an on base machine, but he does have his liabilities, namely his defense and contact rates.
Should the Nats sign Dunn to help make the team a little more palatable until some of their young talent grows up? Would the acquisition of Dunn help in that educational process? Should the Nats conserve their cash for another day and concentrate on next year's amateur draft?
I don't have the answers. Dunn would make the team more interesting in the sense that he's a lock to hit 40 homers and reach base at a .375 clip, both areas that the Nats are significantly lacking. But he's a stop-gap. Not a cornerstone.
Cincinnati has been fairly terrible the last couple of years with Dunn in the lineup. Is the Nats lineup any different than the Reds?
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