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Saturday, December 06, 2008

Rosenthal: A’s out of running for SS Furcal

Post-Rafaelite Brotherhood unite!

The A’s abruptly pulled out of the Rafael Furcal sweepstakes Friday after the free-agent shortstop rejected their four-year contract offer.

Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer, confirmed to FOXSports.com that Furcal declined the A’s proposal, which was believed to be in the range of $35 million to $40 million.

The A’s had given Furcal a Saturday deadline to accept their offer, according to major-league sources. When Furcal rejected the deal, team officials informed Kinzer they would move on to other pursuits.

Kinzer said the “door is definitely open” to further discussions, but the A’s will only revisit Furcal if he is willing to accept a lesser deal, sources said.

In the meantime, the A’s plan to explore signing free-agent left-hander Randy Johnson and consider free-agent hitters such as Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell and Jason Giambi.

“They needed some freedom to make the moves they needed to — that’s fine,” Kinzer said.

Repoz Posted: December 06, 2008 at 12:11 AM | 15 comment(s)
Related News: General, Oakland

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1. Stately, Plump Buck Mulligan Posted: December 05, 2008 at 11:35 PM (#3021987)

Come on, White Sox.

2. Gold Star 4 Robot Boy Posted: December 06, 2008 at 12:07 AM (#3021992)

Did he reject the years or the money?
I can't recall what LA's last offer to Furcal was, but I wouldn't mind if they took another bash at signing him.

3. philly Posted: December 06, 2008 at 12:36 AM (#3021999)

Furcal was probably pissed that the A's reneged on the widely reported 4 yr/48M offer.

Oh.

4. Tripon Posted: December 06, 2008 at 12:43 AM (#3022001)

If you believe Heyman, the Dodgers deal was two years/25 million. But considering the McCourts unwillingness to pay for free agents this off season and the A's current offer, I can't see the Dodgers offering that deal again. They know now that they can get Furcal for cheaper than that.

5. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: December 06, 2008 at 12:46 AM (#3022002)

I'm pretty relieved. I had visions of Kotsay Redux, not to mention an IF of Chavez - Furcal - Ellis would need a starting caliber IF as utility man. I can see a good defense no hit guy at SS and an offense boost at 1B being the better option if it means more budget flexibility.

6. BourbonSamurai Posted: December 06, 2008 at 01:20 AM (#3022007)

Ah well. Let's go get Johnson and Dunn and Jack wilson or Adam Everett or something.

7. Gold Star 4 Robot Boy Posted: December 06, 2008 at 01:24 AM (#3022008)

But considering the McCourts unwillingness to pay for free agents this off season...
Seems the McCourts are willing to pay for FAs, but unwilling to go long on years.
Furcal may need to decide whether he wants the money or the security - can't have both, not to the degree he'd like.

8. BeanoCook Posted: December 06, 2008 at 01:43 AM (#3022013)

Can someone tell me why the Brewers shouldn't sign Furcal to play 3rd? Am I insane?

They are going to trade Prince in 1 year anyway, that is where Gamel will play. They were willing to acquire a pretty good 3b man last year, instead got Cameron. Just deal M Cameron to Yanks for Cabera, sign Furcal, there is your new LH (switch actually) leadoff hitter (Furcal) and it fills a huge hole on offense and defense and makes the lineup immediately balanced RH/LF by adding 2 switch hitters. Hell, sign Furcal and K Rod, if the Brewers are willing to pay $100 on CC.

You reserve the right to trade Prince/JJ for top pitching today or 1 year from now. This may not be the path the Brewers initially planned to retool for 2009, but I think it works.

9. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: December 06, 2008 at 02:09 AM (#3022021)

Would the Brewers pay 4/$36M for Furcal to play 3B for them?

10. 6 - 4 - 3 Posted: December 06, 2008 at 03:31 AM (#3022030)

Where would the Brewers play Bill Hall? Or are you assuming that he's a lost cause?

11. Shooty Did Not Kill McGurk

Posted: December 06, 2008 at 09:45 AM (#3022051)

Well, ####.

12. Excel Hearts Choi Posted: December 06, 2008 at 10:07 AM (#3022054)

With all this hand wringing about the economy, the A's might be able to snag a really good deal by being aggressive in their multi-year offers. I know people question if Furcal would be a good four-year investment, but the A's have shown that they won't get into prolonged negotiations that could favor the player. Would any of the other big name free agents be so quick to dismiss a four-year deal (assuming Boras is not their agent)? It certainly does not hurt to ask.

13. Danny Posted: December 06, 2008 at 11:06 AM (#3022072)

Dunn, Burrell, and Giambi are good players, but they're all a lot less valuable for a team that already has Cust.

The easiest way for the A's to upgrade is at SS, and Furcal is the best available by a large amount, so I hope this still gets done somehow.

14. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: December 06, 2008 at 12:29 PM (#3022093)

Why would Milwaukee want any part of Melky? He's awful, and he's not even that cheap anymore.

If they wanted to move Cameron, they could probably get a pretty good player back in return. And if they still needed a CF after that, they could get Melky-type production out of a lot of guys who are cheaper.

15. A Day In the Park Posted: December 06, 2008 at 03:38 PM (#3022156)

Good for Furcal here.

I have him regressing each year (which isn't far fetched) for the next four years to just above a two-win player by 2012. And that is worth around 4 years/50 million. Sounds like a lot but it's true.

He should be able to make more money elsewhere...no problem.

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Saturday, December 06, 2008

Rosenthal: A’s out of running for SS Furcal

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