In 2014, Teixeira will come to Tampa in hopes of not re-aggravating his surgically repaired wrist. With the technology surrounded by the Yankees as well as their doctors being so educated with these types of injuries, Teixeira will likely be the Mark Teixeira that he was before he was injured and forced to miss the entire 2013 season.
Mark Teixeira is without a doubt the best defensive first baseman in the game, and if you created a highlight reel, Teixeira's would take hours to watch. He makes plays at the first base position that other players at the position wouldn't even dream of making. His pitching staffs love him because of the defense and the other infielders love him even more for saving them each about five errors per season, especially Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. He makes all the tough plays look easy and makes the routine plays look like a cake-walk. He has earned himself four gold gloves at the position and has a career .997 fielding percentage. In 2012, his last full season, Teixeira saved 17 runs defensively, which helped him earn a 3.9 WAR that season.
Teixeira's bat will never be the same that it was in his early days with the Rangers and Braves. The switch-hitter used to hit for average and power, but since coming to the Yankees he has admittedly fallen in love with the short porch in left field which has significantly lowered his batting average through the years. He seems content with that part of his game diminishing, and being a dead pull hitter from the left side, which is where he hits most of his home runs. In 2012, he hit .251 with 24 home runs and only a .332 OBP. His on-base percentage is far too low for a player of his caliber and that is the one area that Mark needs to work on in his return in 2014; pitch selection is everything in baseball and Teixeira needs to lay off balls at his knees that he thinks he can hit out of the park only to pop them up high in the air due to his big upper-cut swing as a left handed batter.
My 2014 predictions for a healthy Teixeira: .255 AVG, .340 OBP, 35 HR, 105 RBI
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