According to reports, the Braves have agreed to trade Teixeira to the Angels for first basemen Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Steven Marek.
Kotchman is a nice pick-up. His defense is comparable to Tex’s, and his line of .287/.327/.448 ain’t bad, especially when he’s making 1/9th of Teixeira’s salary and isn’t eligible for free agency ’til after 2011.
With Hudson possibly done for the season and Chipper on the 15, the Braves had no choice; they did the smart thing, and hopefully it’ll pay off in upcoming seasons.
Here’s a good breakdown of the Teixeira situation before the trade from Joe Sheehan at Baseball Prospectus. Obviously, it does a much better job of explaining the issue, and it includes some useful analysis of the differences between Kotchman and Teixeira.
