Tony DeMarco

In case you hadn’t noticed, the New York Yankees are loading up.

When you can spend $161 million on CC Sabathia, you don’t just stop there, right? No, you put more parts around him. Parts such as A.J. Burnett, and who knows which bat to follow?

The Atlanta Braves thought they were in the driver’s seat on Burnett with their five-year offer, but that ended after the Yankees put a $82.5 million offer over five years on the table.

Mike Cameron, currently an expensive piece for the rebuilding-again Brewers, could be a solid veteran answer in center field in place of Melky Cabrera — and until Austin Jackson is ready for prime time. And don’t forget the Yanks’ Nick Swisher acquisition.

All which begs the question, what are the other AL powerhouses going to do in response?

The Boston Red Sox won’t be spending $240 million-plus in the market, but they could make the Sabathia signing the second-biggest of the offseason.

That’s what it’s going to take to land Mark Teixeira, as the Washington Nationals — of all teams — have stepped up with a reported eight-year, $160 million offer.

You really have to doubt whether the 28-year-old switch-hitting first baseman is going to want to endure the building processes going on in Washington or Baltimore — another of his top four suitors. (The Orioles’ offer was reported to be seven years, and in the $140-150 million range.)

The Nats’ offer could be exactly the leverage agent Scott Boras needs to get that kind of money (or more) from a contender. After all, Boras has been talking in Alex Rodriguez-contract terms all along.

That would leave the Angels, who so far have been reluctant to go beyond six guaranteed years for Teixeira — unless, of course, the Yankees want to go for a mega-bucks daily double.

Putting that kind of money into one free agent isn’t the Red Sox’s usual way of doing things, but there are exceptions to every rule.

And Teixeira is exactly the offensive force they need in the post-Manny Ramirez era — the combination of power and on-base percentage. David Ortiz is 33 and in declining health. Ditto Mike Lowell, 34, whose re-signing last winter wasn’t one of the Sox’s better decisions in their recent run of success.

Sign Teixeira, move Kevin Youkilis to third, and the Sox would have three legitimate MVP candidates on their infield. Either keep Lowell as backup at first base, third base and DH, or deal him to one of the teams that will be looking for a fallback option once Teixeira lands somewhere.

And the possibility of retaining Jason Varitek improves as the catching market options continue to diminish.

There is a very distinct possibility that the Angels could get shut out in the big-ticket free-agent market. Sabathia went before they even got serious about making an offer, and unless they are willing to go way beyond their comfort level, they’ll lose Teixeira, who was the perfect fit in their lineup.

GM Tony Reagins’ words in the Los Angeles Times speak for themselves: “Scott knows where we stand. We have a level of salary and years we’re comfortable with, and hopefully that will get it done. If not, we’ll have to move on.’’

OK, so we’ll do the same in advance. The Teixeira-less offense really would need to be addressed, with some combination of events at DH and two of the four corner positions. Because as of today, they are looking at Kendry Morales at first base, and Gary Mathews Jr. and Reggie Willits at DH and in left field.

The Angels do have money to spend, as Frankie Rodriguez, Garret Anderson, Jon Garland and Juan Rivera have come off the payroll. So expect at least one free-agent signing.

Adam Dunn would bring some lineup patience (but more strikeouts), fits at any one of three positions in need, and would provide better lineup balance as a left-handed hitter. Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu are two other free-agent possibilities, and you can’t rule out bringing back Anderson or Rivera.

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And of course, there is Ramirez, about whom Mike Scioscia recently said wouldn’t present a problem fitting into the Angels way of doing things.

But trading young pitching for Garrett Atkins — a UCLA product and SoCal native who would be a good fit in Anaheim — has to be considered, too. That would allow Chone Figgins to DH, or play left field.

Another way to go — and this is the way the Angels usually take — is to deal for starting pitching, specifically, Jake Peavy. And now is the time to move in, with talks having broken off with the Cubs, at least temporarily.

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Say maybe some combination of young pitching on the verge such as Nick Adenhart, plus a shortstop possibility in Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar or Macier Izturis.

We no longer can leave out the defending AL-champion Rays from this discussion — although their payroll isn’t in the same stratosphere.

But that hasn’t stopped them from making efforts to improve. They dealt from strength in sending Edwin Jackson to Detroit for promising left-handed-hitting outfielder Matt Joyce.

Despite winning 14 games, Jackson was no lock for the 2009 rotation, not with David Price apparently ready to step in. Joyce should supplant Gabe Gross as the left-handed part of a potential right field platoon, and it will be interesting to see what he can do with 400 or so plate appearances.

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Look for two more Rays moves — adding a DH, preferably right-handed, although the two leading candidates at this point appear to be switch-hitting Milton Bradley and lefty Jason Giambi, as well as adding depth in the bullpen.