ESPN: Red Sox close to signing Mark Teixeira

UPDATE, 10:57 p.m.: Gordon Edes writes the Red Sox offered a contract "excess of $160 million, but sources close to the negotiations say it is less than the $184 million reported by Boston WCVB sportscaster Mike Lynch." Edes also notes this is not a "take it or leave it" meeting.

The Globe reported this as an update on Extra Bases:

An unnamed source told Channel 25's Butch Stearns that the Sox requested the meeting to make sure Teixeira knew for sure how the team felt about him. Stearns writes "the Red Sox feel like, that in the past, Boras has not always accurately expressed to some of his former clients, how the Sox felt about those players. Or that some of the Sox feelings have been lost in translation. So in this situation, the Sox want to make sure that Teixiera is 100 % clear about how the team feels about him, and again they wanted to do this face to face."

UPDATE, 8:06 p.m.: WBZ's Dan Roche says "the two sides aren't close to getting a deal done" but "these things fluctuate and perhaps a deal could get done in the next few days." I don't know how much stock I take in whatever Roche says, though.

ESPN's Peter Gammons and Buster Olney have confirmed that the Sox are very close to signing free agent Mark Teixeira:

The Boston Red Sox have taken strides toward completing a deal for first baseman Mark Teixeira, major league sources indicated on Thursday evening, to the point that team executives may have face-to-face negotiations with Teixeira's representative, Scott Boras, in the forthcoming hours.

This is very close. And if Teixeira signs tonight, everyone owes me $1 because I called it. Yeah, I did.

I'll be checking sources around the clock until we have a confirmation.