Oakland Athletics Rumors

Yesterday it seemed as if Rafael Furcal and the Braves had reached an agreement on a contract.  However, we have since learned that Furcal's agents are ignoring whatever agreement they had with the Braves and continue to talk to the Dodgers.  The Dodgers have allegedly increased their offer to Furcal, though general manager Ned Colletti did not disclose to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times how that offer had been improved. 

Buster Olney of espn.com reports that the Braves had offered three year, $30M with a vesting option for a fourth year while the As guaranteed $38M over four years.

Let's take a look at the latest rumors regarding where free agent Rafael Furcal will sign.

• Furcal will reportedly sign by Tuesday, according to Yahoo! Sports Tim Brown.  He has received offers from the Dodgers, Royals, As and an unknown team.
• The Blue Jays are no longer in the running for Furcal, reports Joel Sherman.
• There is a $40M, four year offer on the table from the As according to Buster Olney.

Jayson Stark of espn.com took a look at the players who did not sign during this week's winter meetings and what the rest of the off season has in store for them:

• Mark Teixeira: The rumored offers are plentiful: eight years, $160M from the Nationals; seven years, $140M from the Orioles; seven years, $160M from the Angels. Scott Boras clients always take the highest bid, but how will Tex be able to spin taking slightly more money from the lowly Nationals?
• Manny Ramirez: The prevailing wisdom is that Teixeira signs with Boston, a non-starter destination for Ramirez, and the Tex sweepstatkes losers bid on Ramirez. But the Angels haven't expressed interest, the Nationals don't need outfielders and Orioles owner Peter Angelos is unlikely to make a larger offer to Ramirez. What does it all mean? Wherever Ramirez plays, he won't have a home until at least February.
• Rafael Furcal: His agent alleges that the Royals, As, Blue Jays and Dodgers are all interested in Furcal and know that it will take anywhere from $27M to $40M to get a contract signed. However, most people think that the market and interest in Furcal is not quite the picture his agent is painting.
• AJ Burnett: The equation seems pretty simple: either take the money from the Yankees or decide to take a discount and play in Atlanta.
• Derek Lowe: Perhaps the market for Lowe is not as hot as once thought. It appears that neither the Phillies nor the Red Sox have made an offer yet. The Yankees could quickly drop out if Burnett and Andy Pettitte sign. The Mets may be interested, but only at a discount.
• Raul Ibanez: There appears to be serious interest from the Phillies, Angels and Mets.
• Milton Bradley: The Cubs and Rays are rumored to be the bidders for Bradley's bat.
• Adam Dunn: He's alleged to be the back up plan in Washington if Teixeira does not land in DC.
• Brian Fuentes: The market has significantly cooled with the Mets and Indians finding closers, but St. Louis still remains an option.
• Trevor Hoffman: There seems to be even less of a market for Hoffman who's receive nibbles, but nothing serious from the Dodgers, Tigers, Brewers and Rangers.

Buster Olney's latest post is packed with information. Here's some of the highlights:

• The market for Manny Ramirez appears very cool right now and Olney wonders if it is possible that Ramirez and Scott Boras will make the unlikely move of accepting the Dodgers arbitration offer.
• The Cubs appear interested in Adam Dunn but have concerns about whether he can play right field everyday.
• One possibility for Pat Burrell is an attractive one year deal from the Rays.
• The major parts of a Cubs-Padres Jake Peavy deal appear to be hammered out and Josh Vitters is the centerpiece of the Cubs offer. The teams just need to solve the smaller parts to hopefully complete the deal.
• Jose Valverde is a serious trade candidate for the Astros.
• It appears as if the Rockies got the most they could out of trading Matt Holliday back in November. The market appears far more flooded now than a month ago and the offers for Holliday might have been far less now.
• The Rockies are still optimistic that Brian Fuentes could return. That would mean Huston Street would likely be traded.
• In an effort to out flank the Yankees, the Braves may ask for an answer from AJ Burnett soon just incase the Yankees lose out on CC Sabathia and throw the leftover money at Burnett. The Braves would have no chance to outspend New York if Sabathia doesn't sign with the Yankees.
• Olney agrees that Rafael Furcal is likely to end up in Oakland.

Let's take a look at Ken Rosenthal's latest column:

• The As are considered the leading team to sign Rafael Furcal.
• Randy Johnson and Nick Johnson are two other veterans the As are looking to add.  Jason Giambi does not appear to be a preference.
• The Phillies reported offer to Derek Lowe seems to be a back up plan if the team can not bring back Jaime Moyer.  Interestingly, the Dodgers are considered to be interested in Moyer.
• Speaking of back up plans, the Yankees have expressed interest in Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf who would seem to be back up plans if the team can not sign CC Sabathia and/or AJ Burnett and/or Lowe.
• The Braves have left the possibility of five guaranteed years open for Burnett.
• The Braves alleged interest in Adam Dunn seems to be low at best.  Raul Ibanez is another option, but signing him will be expensive as well.  The team is more likely to try and trade Kelly Johnson for outfield help.
• It's just Rosenthal's speculation, but he believes that trade talks between the Yankees and Dodgers about a Robinson Cano for Matt Kemp trade will rekindle next week.
• The Cubs continue to speak frequently with the Padres about trying to get a deal for Jake Peavy done.  Previously reported rumors about the Orioles being the third team involved in trade talks have died down.
• The Royals might consider trying to sign Kyle Farnsworth.

Jayson Stark of espn.com gives us a lot of hot stove updates in his most recent post:

• The Braves are now the front runner to land AJ Burnett.
• It does not seem like another team has attempted to match the Yankees $140M offer to CC Sabathia who is expected to make a decision soon, possibly next week.
• The are rumors that the White Sox are looking at Jorge Cantu.
• The Phillies have been pursuing Derek Lowe, but it doesn't seem like they have a realistic shot of having him sign.
• Rafael Furcal's suitors seemed to have reduced to the Dodgers and As with possible interest from the Orioles.
• Ty Wigginton and Adrian Beltre are the likely back up plans for the Dodgers if they are unable to retain Furcal and Casey Blake.

Jayson Stark of espn.com provides us with an update on Rafael Furcal's free agency.  First an foremost, Furcal's agent doesn't see any decision being made until the winter meetings start.  In the meantime, four teams are rumored to be interested in Furcal: the As, Giants, Braves and an unidentified fourth team.  Stark notes that the Cubs and Dodgers are unlikely to be the fourth team, but that the Red Sox and Orioles are possible matches.  The Braves interest seems contingent on the team trading Yunel Escobar to the Padres as part of a package for Jake Peavy.

I'm not sure how the Red Sox are a fit with Jed Lowrie and Julio Lugo already on their roster.

The deadline to offer a free agent arbitration is tonight at 11pm CST (1pm EST). Here's a list of players who are eligible for arbitration, their team's decisions and any commentary.

• Trevor Hoffman was not offered arbitration by the Padres.
• The Angels have offered arbitration to Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Jon Garland and Darren Oliver.
• Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe and Casey Blake were offered arbitration by the Dodgers. Joe Beimel, Brad Penny, Jeff Kent and Greg Maddux were not.
• Brian Fuentes has been offered arbitration by the Rockies.
• The Blue Jays offered arbitration to AJ Burnett but not Greg Zaun.
• The Royals offered arbitration to Mark Grudzielanek.
• Russ Springer, Braden Looper and Jason Isringhausen have not been offered arbitration by the Cardinals.
• The Yankees did not offer arbitration to Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu or Mike Mussina.
• Dennys Reyes has been offered arbitration by the Tigers. The Tigers also declined to offer arbitration to Edgar Renteria.
• The Brewers offered arbitration to CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets and Brian Shouse.
• The Mariners have offered arbitration to Raul Ibanez.
• John Smoltz was not offered arbitration by the Braves.
• The Mets have offered arbitration to Oliver Perez, but Luis Ayala and Moises Alou did not receive offers.
• The Red Sox have offered arbitration to Jason Varitek and Paul Byrd.
• Kerry Wood and Bob Howry were not offered arbitration by the Cubs.
• The As have declined to offer arbitration to Alan Embree and Frank Thomas. 
• As Ken Rosenthal suggested yesterday, the Diamondbacks did not offer arbitration to Adam Dunn.  They did, however, offer arbitration to Juan Cruz, Brandon Lyon and Orlando Hudson.
• The Rangers offered arbitration to Milton Bradley.

Some notes to pass along about the As from Joe Stiglich's article in the Contra Costa Times. 

• Paul Kinzer, Rafael Furcal's agent, reports that Furcal will not decide where he is signing until at least the middle of this week. 
• The As are contemplating retaining Alan Embree for 2009, but the lefty has also garnered interest from Colorado.
• Along with Embree, the As are still deciding on whether or not to offer Frank Thomas arbitration as well.

Peter Gammons examines how many of the larger free agent chips will fall once CC Sabathia lands.  Apparently, in talking to many GM's, if the Dodgers land Sabathia that would allegedly push the Giants into the mix for Manny Ramirez.  Gammons also comments that the As are expected to continue to push for Rafael Furcal while the Blue Jays will maintain their promise to Milton Bradley that he is their priority.