Why limit ourselves to Mark Teixeira?

UPDATE 11:01 PM: SOX OWNER SAYS “NOT A FACTOR” FOR TEIXEIRA

UPDATE 6:54 PM: RED SOX FINALIZING DEAL WITH TEIXEIRA

Milton Bradley – SD Dirk

Part of the reason the Red Sox want Mark Teixeira is because of his clear talent and the ability to give the Red Sox “offensive predictability,” as Peter Gammons told Fire Brand a couple weeks ago.

I’m not sold on the benefits of Teixeira, but with the news that the Sox are in the lead for him, it stands to reason that the brass is sold on what Tex can bring, even if it may force Mike Lowell to the bench or another organization.

The question becomes — why are we looking at just Teixeira? There are two main arguments against signing Teixiera: the first being the length and dollars of the contract and the second being the blocking of Lars Anderson and Mike Lowell.

Considering it seems like a foregone conclusion that the Sox are going to bring in a bopper, (and thus push Mike Lowell out of a job) why not bring in players who would command short-term deals? Why are we limiting ourselves to Mark Teixeira? Why couldn’t we look at…

MILTON BRADLEY

Bradley had a sensational year last year for the Texas Rangers and led the American League in offense, hitting .321/.436/.563. Long considered a injury-prone bad seed, he went well on his way to reversing both concepts last year.

While Bradley certainly still isn’t out of the woods with his health, tell me what’s wrong with this deal. He wants a multi-year pact and reportedly is close to a deal with the Chicago Cubs. If that falls through, we could snap him up on a one-year deal, or heck, what’s wrong with giving two or three?

Bradley is an offensive giant who could give David Ortiz breathers at DH and play the field the other days (remember, this is what he would do as a Cub). He could play right field and left field. Although he has extensive experience in center I would gather the Sox would keep him out of center for his health and shift J.D. Drew over there. It would be, for all intents and purposes, a four-man outfield like we had last year… except instead of Coco, we have Milton Bradley.

I’m making crazy sense here, and you know it.

Pat Burrell – Scott Ableman

PAT BURRELL

Pat the Bat is fresh off a World Series championship and is a butcher in the field defensively at left-field. He’s long been rumored to be overdue for a move to first base so the Sox could sign him to a similar deal to the one that Raul Ibanez got to replace Burrell in Philadelphia (three years, a shade over 30 million).

Burrell has a career .257/.367/.485 line but has been above .500 in slugging percentage four years running and just bopped 33 homers. He’d be another 30-homer, 100-RBI bat that the Sox apparently need desperately.

ADAM DUNN

He’s finding the market a bit more frigid than he thought, which isn’t surprising since he is in the Manny class of terrible fielders and whiffs a ton to go along with a career .247 batting average (he hit .236 last year). That said… that .381 OBP is nice. Four straight years of exactly 40 homers (and the fifth year being 46 in 2004) is nice.

Everyone concedes he’s likely to end up a first baseman, so why not sign Dunn for two-three years and enjoy his walks and his 40+ homers? The only team that might be willing to give him five or more years are the Washington Nationals. If he doesn’t want to be a Nat, Boston provides a great opportunity for him.

So remind me again why we need Mark Teixeira when there are three bats just as good as him on the market, all of which would command shorter years and significantly shorter dollars (a smaller concern than the years)?

If Lars Anderson pans out, he is no longer blocked. If we let Jason Bay leave as a free agent, any of the above names can slot in as a full-time left fielder or we can simply chase another free agent. Why commit ourselves to eight-to-10 years of Teixeira if we can make a shorter commitment that addresses our needs and gives us more long-term flexibility?

Here are some rebuttals:

• Teixeira is gifted defensively, something all the above are not gifted with.
• Teixeira may reflect the safest bet over the term of the contract. (Maybe.)
• Teixeira is looked at as the class of the free agent hitters for a reason.
• Teixeira gives long-term stability at first base, allowing the Sox to focus on future needs at other positions.