Its a done deal
Reports: Braves make splash, land former All-Star 1B Teixeira
July 30, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com staff and wire reports
The Texas Rangers traded first baseman Mark Teixeira to the Atlanta Braves on Monday for a four-player package that includes hot catching prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia, according to several reports including on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram website.
In the six-player trade, Texas also shipped left-handed reliever Ron Mahay to Atlanta, which will send Class A shortstop Elvis Andrus, 19-year-old right-handed pitching prospect Nestali Feliz and another young arm to be named later, according to the Star-Telegram report.
Fantasy Baseball
The weak-sister NL adds a third player to its player pool -- Tadahito Iguchi, Ty Wigginton and now Mark Teixeira. It is time to burn your remaining free-agent-acquisition budget in NL-only leagues. If you're in the upper third in leftover FAAB, go after Big Tex. Spend as much as possible. No player changing teams will be better in the final eight weeks of the season. If not, you might be best off scoring the new Astros 3B on the cheap, while others bid, wait and hope on Tex. -- Eric Mack
Emack's trade analysis
Week 18 Planner
The deal will be complete after medical evaluations.
Teixeira, an All-Star in 2005 on the way to hitting 43 home runs with 144 RBI and a .301 average after blasting 38 home runs the season before, has seen his power numbers dip the past two seasons. After a slow first half in 2006, the onetime first-round pick by the Rangers finished with 33 home runs, and has 13 in 78 games this season.
Saltalamacchia has played 47 games for the Braves this season. The 22-year-old rookie catcher is hitting .284 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 141 at-bats.
Third-place Atlanta trails the New York Mets by 4½ games in the NL East and is in the thick of the wild-card race. The Mets ended the Braves' streak of 14 straight division titles last year.
The 27-year-old Teixeira would join a lineup that includes Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Jeff Francoeur and All-Star Brian McCann, but he won't come cheaply.
Teixeira, making $9 million this year, is eligible for salary arbitration after this season and can become a free agent after the 2008 season. He is certainly familiar with the Atlanta area, having starred at Georgia Tech.
Raji | 
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