Angels Acquire Mark Teixeira from Struggling Braves
The Atlanta Braves have given up on this season, as evidenced by the trade of slugger Mark Teixeira, to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. For the Braves, who have Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson on the DL, and virtually no shot at a division title or wild-card berth, the time had come to shed payroll and plan for next year.
Teixeira adds more offense to an already potent lineup in L.A. I would assume that he’ll bat 3rd before Vlad Guerrero or 5th (after him). The trade moves probably doesn’t affect Torii Hunter or Garret Anderson a bit further down in the lineup. It will be interesting to see if they use Mark as the DH or put him on the field, although it’s been pointed out that the Angels did trade their 1st basemen for Teixeira, so he will probably play 1st base primarily. While I’m sure he’ll get a bit of both, I see him more in the DH role for the Angels.
The Los Angeles Angels already have the best record in baseball. That didn’t stop them from making a bold move two days before the trade deadline. With their sights set firmly on the World Series, the Angels pulled off a blockbuster deal Tuesday to acquire slugger Mark Teixeira from the fading Atlanta Braves.
My Arizona Diamondbacks were also in the running for Mark Teixeira, so I am a little upset that we did not make a big enough play to acquire him. The D-Backs are severely lacking on offense, so a bat of Teixeira’s caliber would’ve done wonders in Phoenix. It seems like they never have the balls to make a big move, despite the obvious need. There’s still a chance that they’ll make a deal, but the type of player they can get now has diminished. Kudos to the Angels for pulling the plug… it doesn’t hurt that they have a bigger budget to work w/ either though.
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