Post Winter Meeting News

Well the hot item after the winter meetings still is Mark Teixeira. They Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, Angels, Nationals and possibly others are still in the hunt. Teixeira said he wants to have a deal done by X-Mas.

- Yankees chairman Hank Steinbrenner wants to add Mark Teixeira to his roster, and he isn't the only person within the organization that wants to land the first baseman.

"[Chairman] Hank [Steinbrenner] wants him, but he isn't alone in the organization," the New York Post reported on Sunday, alluding to a source. "They need somebody to protect Alex [Rodriguez]."

As expected, the Yankees will focus on Manny Ramirez should Teixeira slip through their fingers.

- The New York Daily News has reported that outfielder Johnny Damon advised free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett to choose the Yankees over the Red Sox.

"Johnny talked to A.J. about New York, the differences between New York and Boston, how he views it," a Yankee official said. "Johnny couldn't be happier here, and he communicated those thoughts to A.J."

Alex Rodriguez also reportedly helped recruit Burnett to New York.

- Kenny Lofton was out of the game in 2008, but recently he tried to hurt the Yankees again when he attempted to dissuade CC Sabathia from signing with the club.

"He painted a bad picture of New York and the Yankees," a person with knowledge of the situation said. "A lot of negative things."

- CC Sabathia is expected arrive in New York on Monday night, take a physical Tuesday and possibly be introduced as a member of the Yankees on Wednesday.

Expect A.J. Burnett to follow after his $82.5 million deal is official. According to agent Darek Braunecker, no date for Burnett's physical has been set.

- The A's appear to be the frontrunners for free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. Joel Sherman said the same on Friday. Rosenthal says the A's have upped their initial four-year offer to Furcal, and it appears to be the only four-year proposal on the table. Yahoo's Jeff Passan suggested on Wednesday that the Royals believe it will take four years and $44MM to sign him. The A's were reportedly in the $35-40MM range previously.

- The Mets have checked the bullpen off their list and will now look to upgrade the rotation. It seems that Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf are the top targets, with the pricey Derek Lowe a less likely possibility. McCarron notes that the Mets have a strong relationship with Wolf's agent Arn Tellem, who brokered the Francisco Rodriguez contract.

- The Padres and Braves were discussing a 4-for-1 Jake Peavy deal in November. Yunel Escobar and Gorkys Hernadez were agreed upon. The conflict came as the Padres wanted Charlie Morton over Jo-Jo Reyes as well as Jeff Locke or Tyler Flowers over Blaine Boyer. To me that gap looks pretty sizeable, so maybe the trade was never close. At this point it seems like the Braves could end up with Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami as their rotation upgrades. They've reportedly made Escobar unavailable, leading Dan Hayes of the North County Times to suggest the Braves would have to remove Tommy Hanson's apparent "untouchable" tag to get Peavy. Everything I've read about Hanson has said the Braves are adamant about keeping him.