Atomic RoadRunners | Andrew Flynn’s High-Energy Fantasy Baseball

Mark Teixeira told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he believes the Braves won’t deal him. “(Manager) Bobby (Cox) pointed out that there had been rumors about me and (reliever Will Ohman), and he told us not to listen to media reports and to those rumors, because this team is still trying to win the (National League East),” said Teixeira. Cox also had this to say on the matter: “We’re buyers, not sellers. We’re trying anything to improve. We’re not seeking to move anybody. I don’t know where [people] got all of that stuff from. There’s a time to [start trading players], I suppose, but we’re in this thing.” (Rotoworld)

Update: ESPN’s Jayson Stark has additional Teixeira rumors:

In theory, by the end of this weekend — after a week of dueling the Marlins and Phillies — the Braves will know exactly whether they’re in a race or out of one. But it seems as if the Braves have been stuck for weeks in what GM Frank Wren calls “that middle ground” between contention and oblivion.

They’re 19-26 since the end of May. They haven’t even won more than three in a row since Memorial Day. So they look more and more like a team that’s about to shake up Deadline Week by dealing away the best player on the market — Mark Teixeira.

If the Braves decide as soon as this weekend that it’s sell-off time, clubs that have spoken with them got the impression they’ve already done enough groundwork to put together a Teixeira deal quickly. The question is: Who’s buying? Every indication is that the Braves have at least touched base with the Rays, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels and Yankees on Teixeira. But Arizona appears to be the team to watch. The Diamondbacks quietly made a big run at Teixeira last July, and they’re in just as serious need of some major thump now.

An official of one club that spoke with the Diamondbacks describes them as having “definite interest.” But while the Braves would love to wrest away Conor Jackson, it’s tough to imagine Arizona dealing away a player it likes that much for two months of Teixeira.

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