Ken Rosenthal on Teixeira, Lee, Young

Ken Rosenthal has a new column up, which includes this item on the Rangers:

If the Rangers sign the newly acquired Carlos Lee to say, a five-year, $60 million contract, it could mark the beginning of the end for first baseman Mark Teixeira in Texas.

Before addressing Lee, the Rangers likely will grant an extension to shortstop Michael Young, whose current, below-market deal expires after the 2008 season.

Teixeira is in a more tenuous position.

He is signed for $9 million next season, but after that he will be one year away from free agency and eligible for salary arbitration.

At that point, if not before, the Rangers either will be compelled to sign Teixeira to a contract extension or trade him for pitching.

A long-term deal, however, is unlikely; Teixeira's agent, Scott Boras, generally prefers his clients to determine their values on the open market.

I'm so tired of the "the Rangers need to trade Mark Teixeira for pitching" b.s.

And trading Mark Teixeira so that you can sign Mike Young and Carlos Lee long-term makes zero sense.

Teixeira is a better hitter than Young or Lee.  Really, he's a better player than either of those guys.

And he's just 26, while Lee is 30 and Young turns 30 in October.

As a general rule, you want to lock up the guys in their mid-20s long-term, not the guys with a "3" at the beginning of their age.

I've got no problem with Young being signed long-term, as long we aren't paying him on the assumption that he's going to keep producing like he did in 2005.  That looks like a peak year...his 2004 and 2006 seasons seem more in line with what he's going to do going forward, and while that's solid production, it isn't star-level production, and he shouldn't be paid as a star.

The Rangers need to let Lee walk, and try to keep Teixeira and Young.