Desperately needing a shortstop since the December trade of Miguel Tejada, the Orioles could target free agents Rafael Furcal, Orlando Cabrera or Edgar Renteria. Or they might court less expensive alternatives such as the St. Louis Cardinals' Cesar Izturis or Minnesota Twins' Adam Everett, or acquire a shortstop via trade. Whatever the process, the Orioles are looking for a long-term solution and not a one-year stopgap.
"I think it's a spot that you would like to feel you have somebody there capable of playing it for several years to come," MacPhail said.
Teixeira, a Mount St. Joseph graduate who is widely considered the best free-agent position player available, is the Orioles' primary target. They are not alone.
Teixeira's agent, Scott Boras, said he expects so much interest in his client that Teixeira and his wife probably will have to whittle the list to a handful of clubs before serious negotiations can begin.
Boras wouldn't comment on whether he expects the Orioles to be in that mix, but he did not discount the appeal that a hometown team holds.
"Generally, players raised in a certain area are always going to have an attraction to that area and the brand of that area because it is home and they are familiar with it," Boras said. "It's my experience [that] players always look at those areas because it provides a comfort to them."
But the Orioles shouldn't expect any hometown discounts. Teixeira reportedly turned down an eight-year, $144 million offer from the Texas Rangers in 2007, and he has continued to play at an All-Star and Gold Glove level since.
It's conceivable, albeit unlikely, that Teixeira could challenge the Boras-brokered, then-record-setting $252 million deal that Alex Rodriguez signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2000 with the Rangers. Teixeira, 28, probably will seek an annual average value of $20 million-plus for eight or more years.
Although that's an eye-popping number in a sagging U.S. economy, Boras said baseball's revenue stream has more than doubled in the past seven years and teams that want a franchise player can afford such an expense. Therefore, he's not basing his expectations on anything but the baseball market.
"In good times, I never expected players to make more than the economy" allowed, he said. "And in these times, I don't go in and ask for less either."
FREE-AGENT ATTRACTIONS
