The Alleged Timeline: Here, from the Huffington Post, is a brief, anonymously sourced, but plausible version of how the deal went down.

General manager Brian Cashman met with Teixeira and his agent, Scott Boras, in the Washington area on Dec. 4 and impressed the player with models of the new Yankee Stadium, according to one of the people familiar with the talks.

Early Tuesday, after midnight New York time, Cashman received a telephone call from Boras stating that Teixeira’s preference was to play for the Yankees, the person said. While the Boston Red Sox had also pursued Teixeira, offering an eight-year deal worth about $170 million, New York is closer to the player’s family in Maryland.

Boras came off his demand for a 10-year contract later in the day, the person said, and the deal was agreed to.

Tex Projections: Teixeira’s projections vary slightly. CHONE (.902 OPS, 32 HR) and Marcel (.909 OPS, 27 HR) opine similarly. Bill James (.956 OPS, 36 HR) likes him a bit more. Giving them a rough merger for conjecture, let’s say he has a .920 OPS and 32 HR next year. He replaces the Giambino who put up a .875 OPS and 32 HR. Texeira has a slight edge offensively, and is far better defensively. Giambi has intangibles and his magic thong. Compared to last season, it’s an upgrade and a significant one, though not revolutionary.  Texeira helps, but they need improved contributions from players, such as Cano, Matsui and Posada and Jeter to recreate the dominant 2006 and 2007 offense.

What this Means for Next Season: Presumably, Texeira takes over at first, Swisher moves to the outfield and Melky Cabrera sits. The CHONE projections have Teixeira worth +31 runs above average. Cabrera is worth -1. The Yankees pick up a projected 32 runs. Pre-Trade, The Red Sox and Yankees were almost identical (assuming the Red Sox resigned Varitek). If the Yankees replace either Nady or Damon with Manny Ramirez, they would add another 32 runs. For FanGraphs, Texeira gives New York 3-4 extra wins, altering them from “contender” to “best team in baseball.€

The Yanks Aren’t Spending A Lot: This point has been beaten more than the Detroit Lions, bah-zing. The Yankees shed $88m in payroll this offseason. With Sabathia ($23m), Texeira ($22.5m) and Burnett ($16.4 million), New York added $62 million. This leaves them still $26 million under last year’s expenditure. Essentially, they could add Manny Ramirez or an Andy Pettite-Adam Dunn combo and break even.

The Yanks Are Spending Quite a Bit: The Yankees, four highest paid salaries in tow, will pay some significant luxury coin next season. The three big signings tie the Yankees to $423.5 million in guaranteed contracts. According to FanGraphs their real payroll bloats to more than $250 million, ten million per 25-man player. Their alleged big market rivals, the Boston Red Sox, spent $133 million, $5.32 million per 25-man player. With the new stadium revenue (and payment burden safely transferred to the taxpayers), MLB may not be able to control the Yankees with money.