Even after losing Mark Teixeira to the free-spending Yankees, the Angels don't plan to pursue slugger Manny Ramirez.

Angels general manager Tony Reagins said that instead of trying to land Ramirez, the club is "going to give our younger players an opportunity to play."

Because owner Arte Moreno and manager Mike Scioscia had said complimentary things about Ramirez, speculation had grown that the team would go after the free-agent outfielder if Teixeira didn't return to the Angels.

Kendry Morales, 26, will take over for Teixeira if Los Angeles doesn't acquire another first baseman, and there already are plenty of Angels in the outfield.

Along with Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Reggie Willits and Gary Matthews Jr., the Angels made sure Juan Rivera would stick around, agreeing with him on a $12.75 million, three-year deal last week.

Teixeira, acquired July 29 from Atlanta, reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday with the Yankees on a $180 million, eight-year contract.

The Angels had offered Teixeira an eight-year deal for a reported $160 million, but withdrew their offer last weekend. Teixeira and Ramirez have the same agent, Scott Boras.

Reagins believes Teixeira got what he was seeking.

"You just want to wish the player well and you hope he made the right choice for him and his family. At the end of the day, I think he wound up where he wanted to be," Reagins said in a telephone interview.

Brewers

Owner Mark Attanasio said Major League Baseball might need to impose a salary cap to preserve competition after the Yankees spent $424 million to sign three players.

With the deal with Teixeira, the Yankees continued to acquire the most expensive free- agents on the market before moving into a new $1.3 billion ballpark next season. New York signed former Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia for seven years and $161 million, and got pitcher A.J. Burnett for five years and $82.5 million.

"At the rate the Yankees are going, I'm not sure anyone can compete with them," Attanasio said in an e-mail. "Frankly, the sport might need a salary cap."

Baseball is the only one of the major U.S. professional sports that operates without a salary cap, which sets a ceiling on payroll. The sport imposes a tax when teams surpass a payroll threshold and redistributes revenue from the highest-grossing teams like the Yankees to the clubs that produce the least revenue like Milwaukee.

The Yankees have exceeded the payroll limits every year since baseball began imposing a penalty in 2003 and has accounted for 90 percent of the money collected, the Associated Press reported. The methods baseball implements to curb spending isn't working for the Yankees, Attanasio said.

"They are on a completely different economic playing field," Attanasio said in a telephone interview. "I paid $220 million for my team; now they get three players for $420 million."

Mets

Johan Santana pitched for a formidable Venezuelan team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, and said he would relish the opportunity to represent his country again. That decision might not be entirely his now that the Mets, citing the knee surgery he had in October, have cast doubt on his participation in this year's event.

With the second Classic beginning in two and a half months, General Manager Omar Minaya said he planned to speak with Santana about his involvement after the holiday season, and it is possible that he will advise Santana not to play.

"He should be OK, but we're going to be conservative," Minaya said. "If we have a little bit of doubt or concern, we'd rather have him not play."

Elsewhere

Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Mench signed a one-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers. Mench, 30, hit .243 in 51 games for Toronto last season. He has a career batting average of .269 with 89 homers and 330 RBIs in 702 major league games with the Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers. Mench's contract is worth $1.8 million.