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New York Yankees Rumors: Mark Teixeira Gives Yankees the ‘Ok’ to Trade Him?

By Michael Cambria

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This just in!

According to Mike Ortiz Jr. of Did You See That Now, a league source stated that Mark Teixeira has given the Yankees the ‘ok’ to trade him this winter.

Teixeira, 35, is entering the final year of his contract and is owed $22,500,000. He’s also protected by the 10-5 rule, which is why the Yankees would need his approval to make any sort of trade.

According to Ortiz Jr., the same source indicated that Teixeira’s desired destination is the Los Angeles Angels, where former Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler is set to make his debut as their new General Manager.

With Albert Pujols under contract through 2021, I’m not sure where Teixeira would fit into the Angels plans unless the Halos decline their 2016 club option to David Murphy and have Pujols transition into a full-time designated hitter – and on top of all this – decide to take on substantial payroll by adding Tex’s contract to their books.

If the Yankees can actually manage to move Teixeira and his hefty contract, it would mean Gregory Bird will take over as their every-day first baseman in 2016. In 46 games played while taking over for the injured Teixeira, Bird slashed .261/.343/.529 with an .871 OPS. He also launched 11 home runs and 31 RBI and you can make the argument that he was most patient hitter for the Yankees down the stretch.

Before Teixeira went down with a season-ending leg injury he was batting .255 with 31 homers and 79 RBI. Greg Bird fit in nicely with the Yankees, but it’s no secret that the Yankees missed Tex’s bat tremendously in the lineup during their playoff push. Had Teixeira remained healthy, the Yankees might still be playing playoff baseball, but that’s rather here nor there.

According to baseballreference.com, Mark Teixeira is projected to slash .233/.325/.453 with 24 home runs and 67 RBI in 2016. This production can certainly  be had for way less than $22.5 MM, which is why I would consider any trade that gets rid of Teixeira and his contract a miracle. Imagine what the Yankees can do on the free-agent forefront if they shed this type of salary?

That said, I would take these rumors and this source with a grain of salt until there is more concrete evidence regarding any type of trade.

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