After weeks of speculation about 1B Mark Teixeira it is being reported that the Atlanta Braves have made a deal with the Texas Rangers for him. The deal has Teixeria and pitcher Ron Mahay going to Atlanta with the Rangers receiving C Jarrod Saltalamacchia and three minor leaguers.
Teixeria is eligible for salary arbitration at the end of the season, and is making $9 million this season. The trade should help the Braves lineup and they will have money at the end of the season to try and re-sign Teixeria if they want.
With the trading deadline a little over 1 day away this was the first big trade, but there were a few more deals made over the weekend:
- The Chicago White Sox traded 2B Tadahito Iguchi to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league pitcher Mike Dubee
- The Arizona Diamondbacks traded OF Scott Hairston to the San Diego Padres for minor league pitcher Leo Rosales
- The Milwaukee Brewers traded pitcher Grant Balfour to the Tampa bay Devil Rays for pitcher Scott McClung
- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays traded 2B Ty Wigginton to the Houston Astros for pitcher Dan Wheeler. The Astros also released Morgan Ensberg this weekend
- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays traded 2B Jorge Cantu and a minor leaguer to the Cincinnati Reds for two minor league pitchers
There will be a few more deals before tomorrow afternoon. Will the Tigers trade for a relief pitcher? Will the Angels trade for a big bat? We’ll find out over the next 24 hours.
Other News:
- Seattle Mariners OF Ichiro became the third fastest player to 1,500 hits yesterday in 1,060 games. Only Al Simmons (1,040) and George Sisler (1,048) did it faster than Ichiro.
- The Detroit Tigers have placed P Kenny Rogers back onto the DL with a shoulder injury.
- Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY yesterday. Both played 20+ years with one team, and had over 3,000 hits. In their induction speeches they talked about integrity in baseball during a time of negativity.
