Angels withdraw offer to slugger Mark Teixeira

"And starting at first base for your 2009 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim . . . Kendry Morales?

Get used to it, Angels fans. Mark Teixeira is not coming back.

The Angels withdrew their eight-year offer -- believed to be for $160 million -- to Teixeira on Sunday afternoon, and team spokesman Tim Mead said the Angels will no longer pursue the free-agent first baseman.

When pressed on whether this was a negotiating ploy, whether the Angels were playing hardball with agent Scott Boras, Mead, the team's vice president of communications, said, "We're out."

General Manager Tony Reagins did not return calls Sunday evening. In an e-mail to selected media outlets, Boras wrote: "Mark Teixeira enjoyed his time with the Angels and was an integral part of their success last season. His interest in returning to the club has been sincere, real and continues to be one of his earnest priorities throughout this off-season."

The Angels are the second team in three days to pull out of negotiations with Teixeira, following Boston owner John Henry's declaration late Thursday that "we are not going to be a factor."

The Red Sox, who met with Boras and the slugger at Teixeira's Dallas-area home Thursday night, offered Teixeira an eight-year deal for about $170 million.

But unlike the Angels, whose intentions were made quite clear by Mead, the Red Sox are still considered the front-runners to land Teixeira, who many believe wants to play for a contending team on the East Coast.

The Washington Nationals, who reportedly offered eight years and $160 million, and the Baltimore Orioles, who reportedly offered seven years and about $150 million, remain involved in the bidding.

There have been conflicting reports about the New York Yankees' level of interest in Teixeira, whom the Angels acquired from the Atlanta Braves on July 29 and was the team's top priority this winter.

Boras is reportedly seeking an eight-year deal for at least $180 million, and a source familiar with the Angels' thinking maintained all last week that owner Arte Moreno had no plans to sweeten his offer, which was extended at the winter meetings in Las Vegas.

"Arte is sticking to his guns on this one," the source said.

The Angels will receive a first-round draft pick and a compensation pick between the first and second rounds in June as compensation for losing Teixeira, but he will be virtually impossible to replace next season.

When the Angels traded promising young first baseman Casey Kotchman and double-A pitcher Stephen Marek to the Braves for Teixeira, they thought they had finally ended their three-year search for that elusive big bat to complement slugger Vladimir Guerrero.

Though they led the American League West by 11 games at the time of the trade, the Angels also thought Teixeira was the missing piece that would propel them to their first World Series title since 2002.