Teixeira drops Boras as agent

TAMPA, Fla. - Last month, Scott Boras picked up a Yankees' superstar.

This month he lost one.

Mark Teixeira, a Boras client since he was 18, announced Wednesday morning he was cutting ties with the notorious agent, the one who negotiated his eight-year, $180-million contract with the Yankees in 2008.

"There's no reason to get into a lot of specifics right now but sometimes business relationships just run their course," Teixeira said. "For me and my family right now this is the best decision for me."

Teixeira said Boras, whom Robinson Cano switched to in early February, was "disappointed" in hearing the news.

"Mark called me yesterday, and we had a very cordial conversation," Boras wrote in an e-mail. "It was a privilege representing him as he became one of the best players in the game and earned a contract commensurate with that. I wish him well."

Andruw Jones, Rafael Soriano and Cano are still represented by Boras. Alex Rodriguez split with Boras last season. "We had a great relationship and he gave me everything I asked for contract-wise," Teixeira said. "I'm 100 percent happy in New York. But at the same time the next six years of my career aren't going to be about a contract."

Teixeira didn't say anything negative about Boras but clearly hasn't relished - other than the financial windfall - the ancillary aspects of being a "Boras guy."

"When I hired Scott at 18, it was to help me with my career and, like I said, from the time I was a rookie people started talking about my free-agent contract and that's the world I live in," Teixeira said. "Unfortunately it took away from a lot of the things I did on the field and I felt at times I was Mark Teixeira, Scott Boras client, instead of Mark Teixeira, baseball player."

Teixeira said, "On the field I'm completely focused on helping this team win, and off the field it's helping kids out and raising money for [the charity] Harlem RBI."