Out in the Desert

Teixeira Update

By Nicholas Cote | July 29th, 2008

Relevant passages from Ken Rosenthal:

The Diamondbacks, sources say, will not part with first baseman Conor Jackson for Teixeira, who is a free agent at the end of the season. But they would be open to moving Chad Tracy, who is signed for $4.75 million next season with a $7 million option for 2010.

…

The Diamondbacks would not trade either of their top pitching prospects, right-hander Max Scherzer or right-hander Jarrod Parker. But lesser pitchers such as righty Billy Buckner as well as center fielder Gerardo Parra and infielder Jamie D’Antona are among the prospects who could be in play.

Jackson would remain in left field if the Diamondbacks acquired Teixeira, then return to first base next season when Eric Byrnes recovers from his torn left hamstring. The D-Backs would not attempt to sign Teixeira long-term, instead accepting two premium draft picks when he departs as a free agent.

Now is definitely the time to trade Jamie D’Antona, who at 26 years old has just seen the majors for the first time after hitting .367/.407/.612 with 17 HRs and 67 RBIs in AAA this season. D’Antona is blocked at first and third anyway.

That being said, I’d rather acquire a long-term player if we’re going to give up a guy like D’Antona when his value has never been higher, particularly if he’s packaged with Tracy and a pitcher. But on the whole, if Teixeira gets Type A status as expected, and we pick up a couple of draft picks, this trade sounds pretty reasonable. It becomes unreasonable if we give up Co-Jack, Scherzer, or Parker.

But whatever Josh Byrnes decides to do, I’m sure his moves will be smarter than some of the other GMs in our division.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 11:02 am and is filed under Opinions & Analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.