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Rafael Furcal Rumors: Wednesday

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9:31pm: The Royals hope to clear payroll to make room for Furcal, preferably by trading Jose Guillen.  Orlando Cabrera is their backup plan.  The Royals would eat some money to move Guillen, but predictably the market is "almost nonexistent."

The Royals believe Furcal requires a four-year, $44MM deal.  Kinzer has four offers for Furcal currently, all for three or four years.  The surprising implication is that the Dodgers went past two years.

2:50pm: Buster Olney says the A’s met again with Furcal last night.  Apparently Oakland’s four-year offer had been worth about $36MM.  Meanwhile Steve Phillips says Royals GM Dayton Moore asked ownership for more money to sign Furcal.

2:07am: Richard Griffin suggests the Blue Jays are just being used by Kinzer to add negotiating power.

12:10am: The most important takeaway from yesterday’s Rafael Furcal rumors: his agent Paul Kinzer told Ken Rosenthal the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Royals, and A’s are in the running.  Furcal still wants four years.  We also have word from Yahoo’s Tim Brown that the Orioles are in on Furcal, and the list might at times include the Indians.  Brown says the O’s would sign Furcal as a complement to Mark Teixeira.

Padres Have Interest In Vizquel; Dodgers Don’t

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7:39pm: Ned Colletti told Diamond Leung the Dodgers aren’t looking at Vizquel.

5:55pm: Andrew Baggarly says the Padres also have interest in Vizquel.  He adds that the A’s are looking at free agent pitcher Kevin Correia for a minor league deal.

4:52pm: Tony Jackson says the Dodgers might have interest in free agent shortstop Omar Vizquel if they can’t sign Rafael Furcal.

Randy Johnson Rumors

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WEDNESDAY, 1:11pm: Nolan Ryan confirmed the Rangers’ interest in Johnson.

TUESDAY, 8:37pm: Jack Magruder says the Astros and Angels met with Johnson’s reps at the Meetings.  He adds that the Rangers, Brewers, and Cubs touched base before the Meetings.

2:54pm: Four California teams are said to be eyeing Randy Johnson: the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, and A’s.  Mike DiGiovanna learned that the Dodgers and Angels are more on the fringes.  We’ve also seen Johnson linked to the Cubs as a fallback for Jake Peavy.

Rafael Furcal Rumors: Tuesday

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5:59pm: Kinzer told Rosenthal the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Royals, and A’s are in the running for Furcal, who still wants a four-year deal.

5:34pm: The Red Sox have not contacted Paul Kinzer about Furcal, says WEEI’s Alex Speier.

3:28pm: J.P. Ricciardi confirmed his informational meeting with Furcal’s agent.  The Jays would have to move some things around to fit in any significant acquisition.

12:12pm: The Dodgers have made re-signing Furcal their top priority, says Tom Verducci.

12:32am: Though Furcal reportedly rejected an Oakland offer of four years for $35-40MM, GM Billy Beane would not say his pursuit is over.

12:11am: According to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Dodgers re-opened talks with Rafael Furcal Monday night.  They are unwilling to give him a four-year deal.

Giambi Not Signing Yet

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4:48pm: Kat O’Brien talked to Giambi, who said, "Nothing’s getting done yet."

2:16pm: According to Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto:

Jason Giambi appears headed back to the Athletics as a free agent, and an announcement could come at the meetings as the first baseman/designated hitter lives in Las Vegas.

The report comes as a surprise, as other recent reports have said Giambi is low on the Oakland’s list of priorities.

Odds and Ends: Shelton, Laird, Baldelli

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Links for Monday – Winter Meetings, Day 1.

  • Check out the minor league signings for the week at Baseball America.  Hey, Jerome Williams to the A’s!  Also, Chris Shelton signed with the Mariners.
  • Funny quote from Scott Boras: "There can be a lot of late-night meetings where you’re in a room and people are falling asleep.  And you’ll have some late-night GMs who want you to drink. I’ll allow them to do it, but I won’t do it. I do have some interesting things written on napkins over the years."
  • Dave Cameron likes the Tigers’ acquisition of Gerald Laird.
  • Buster Olney talked to some agents who believe "the stated concern about the economy is providing a nice cover for Major League Baseball to roll back salaries."  Another note from Olney, he’d be "shocked" if Rocco Baldelli doesn’t sign with Boston.
  • Tony Massarotti makes five recommendations for the Red Sox.
  • David Murphy asks ten questions about the Phillies.

Thin Market for Furcal

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3:07pm: There’s a great debate going on in the comments about whether the Twins could swoop in and make an offer to Furcal now that they’ve pulled out of negotiations with Casey Blake. I do wonder if word that the A’s and Furcal couldn’t come to terms precipitated the sudden split between the Twins and Blake. Certainly, Tim saw a good fit between the Twins and Furcal back in October, and Furcal is four years younger than Blake — but still, I think Furcal’s monetary demands are pretty steep. No official Twins-Furcal rumors yet, but if anything comes in in the next couple of hours I’ll update this post again.

As reported here yesterday, after shortstop Furcal rejected the A’s offer of 4 years, $35-40MM, the A’s in turn declined to go any further with Furcal.

2:13pm: Buster Olney says that the market for Rafael Furcal "never really developed; if you were to draw up a list of five players who have been hurt by the economic slowdown, Furcal might be somewhere near the top of the list." Olney breaks down how Furcal’s suitors all ended up looking elsewhere, and says the A’s biggest need is veteran starting pitching. Furcal is "the perfect player for some big-money contender to snag for a big-money, short-term deal, but such an offer may not emerge for some time."

Meanwhile, Athletics Nation agrees that "the only person who believes there is a big market for Rafael Furcal appears to be Furcal" and says A’s GM Billy Beane is now the one holding all the cards in that (apparently bilateral) negotiation.

Chris Haft at MLB.com lists Oakland’s other options at short.

Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro.

Six Suitors For Randy Johnson

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Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune has the scoop on Randy Johnson’s suitors.  He says the Giants, Dodgers, Brewers, A’s, Rangers, and Cubs have expressed interest in the 45 year-old lefty.

Johnson wants to play for a contender, and also wants to reach 300 wins and 5,000 strikeouts.  He could get the five wins he needs in the first half, but it’ll take a full, excellent season for him to rack up 211 strikeouts.  Johnson’s agent Alan Nero expects the market for his client to get moving once some of the other top free agent starters sign.

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