Teixeira wants to retire a Yankee as waiver deadline looms
Mark Teixeira announced Friday he would retire from baseball upon the conclusion of the 2016 season and when he steps away from the game, he hopes to do it in pinstripes.
Amid a number of questions about his decision to retire, the New York Yankees first baseman was asked by reporters if he would waive his 10-and-5 rights to accept a trade to a contender if the situation arose.
"I haven't had any conversations with the team about that that," Teixeira said. "It's my goal and my desire to retire as a Yankee and wear pinstripes for the last game of my career. Other than that, we'll have discussions later if that comes up."
Even though the non-waiver trade deadline passed on Aug 1, Teixeira could still potentially be moved via trade if he were to pass through waivers. In being owed the remainder of his $23.125-million salary and his general ineffectiveness this season, he could easily do so.
The 36-year-old, who was an emotional wreck during his press conference to announce his impending retirement, was 2-for-4 with two runs scored against the Cleveland Indians on Friday.
He's hitting just .202 with a .638 OPS this season to go along with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs.
Over the course of his 14 seasons in the bigs, the switch-hitting Teixeira owns a career slash line of .269/.361/.511 with 404 home runs and 1,281 RBIs.
He's also one of just five switch-hitters all-time to hit 400 home runs, joining Mickey Mantle, Chipper Jones, Eddie Murray, and Carlos Beltran.