Teix's honesty

Points for honesty, Teix.

"Every team did [have a chance]," said Teixeira. "I told my agent, 'This is the pecking order,' and I gave him my idea of who was going to be near the top.

"At the same time, I'm not going to lie to you guys. Contract was important. I wasn't going to take half as much money to play in New York. But when a team like New York steps up and is very competitive with their contract, it was an easy decision for me.

"I'm sure there could have been [a deal with Boston], but like I said, contract is important. When everyone was kind of around the same contract, there was no rush for me to make a decision, so that's kind of the way I went about that meeting with Boston.

"I have so much respect for [the Red Sox], but when their offer wasn't with the Yankees' and it just didn't seem like they were going to continue to better their offer, and the Yankees came in and did what they did, it was an easy decision."

Thanks to joeorange for the tip!