Yankees snare 1B Teixeira

Dec 24, 2008 - 2:16 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The Mark Teixeira sweepstakes is over and the winner is ... the New York Yankees.

Considered all along not to among the serious bidders for Teixeira, the Yankees on Tuesday swooped in at the last minute to reach an agreement with the most coveted position player on the free-agent market, emerging as the stunning last-second winner.

A number of media outlets reported the agreement, with SI.com putting the contract terms at $180 million for eight years for the 28-year-old first baseman.

Following the whopping deals handed out by the Yankees to free-agent pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, New York has emptied the coffers to the tune of $423 million to three players this offseason.

The deal gives New York the four highest-paid players in the game - third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Teixeira, lefthander CC Sabathia and shortstop Derek Jeter.

Sabathia signed a seven-year contract for $161 million and A.J. Burnett inked a five-year deal for $82.5 million.

The frenzied spending spree comes on the heels of a season in which the Yankees failed to make the postseason for the first time since 1993 and sent a clear signal that the franchise intends to be the team to beat when it opens play in its new stadium in 2009.

And if the rest of baseball needed a further reminder that money is no object to New York, the agreement comes one day after the team was assessed a $26.9 million luxury tax for its bloated payroll in the 2008 season.

The agreement also was a stinging blow to New York's hated rival, the Boston Red Sox, who have been considered the front-runner to sign Teixeira.

In fact, multiple media outlets had reported earlier Tuesday that Teixeira has narrowed his choices down to the Red Sox and Washington Nationals.

A Maryland native, Teixeira had been rumored to be considering Boston, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. The Yankees also were said to be lurking, although team officials dismissed that one day earlier.

The Orioles dropped out of the process last week and the Angels reportedly withdrew their eight-year contract offer over the weekend.

"From an organization's standpoint, we were in contact with Scott throughout the process for the last two months, so I think the communication was good for the most part," Angels general manager Tony Reagins said.

"I think, as an organization, you have to come to a place and realize a deal is or is not going to get done. So, in this case, it became evident a deal wasn't going to happen."

The Red Sox gave the impression they were out of the Teixeira sweepstakes last Thursday when owner John Henry told the media his team is "not going be a factor."

It has been widely speculated, however, that Henry was simply drawing a line in the sand with Teixeira's agent, Scott Boras.

The switch-hitting Teixeira was acquired by the Angels with the Atlanta Braves on July 29 last season and clubbed 13 homers and 43 RBI in 54 games. He batted .467 in the AL Division Series against Boston.

Overall, Teixeira finished the season with a .308 average, 33 homers and 121 RBI - his fifth straight 30-homer, 100-RBI season.

The No. 5 overall pick of Texas in 2001, Teixeira spent his first 4 1/2 seasons with the Rangers, slamming 43 homers and driving in 144 runs - both career highs - in 2005.

He was dealt to Atlanta at the trading deadline in 2007, and spent the first half of last season with the Braves before the trade to Anaheim.

A durable player who has appeared in at least 145 games in five of his six major league seasons, including back-to-back 162-game seasons in 2005 and 2006, Teixeira is a career .290 hitter with 203 homers and 676 RBI in 904 games.