From the swirl of absurdity surrounding the Rafael Furcal saga, in which his agent seemed to break a verbal promise to Atlanta in order to re-sign with L.A., comes this nugget about the Giants, courtesy of Buster Olney:
First, San Francisco discussed working out a three-year, $39 million deal with the shortstop -- with a $13 million annual salary that would have matched what Furcal had been paid in Los Angeles [on his previous contract].
Furcal’s price has come down quite a bit. According to this guy, he’s signing for three years, $30 M plus a $13 M fourth-year option that vests if he has 600 PAs in 2011. The $30 M is heavily backloaded to 2011. If he plays a lot in 2011, the total years and dollars will exceed the reported Giants’ proposal, but that’s a big, achy-back-and-neck if.
Of course, Olney’s reported Giants numbers are also a big question mark. But they fit the pattern the Giants have established this winter. Even with the economy down the tubes and a possibility of deflation, the Giants have been willing to strike hard and early with proposals that might well be overreach. (Sort of like the Yankees, but on a much smaller scale.) Rumblings say no one would have come close to 2/$18 M for Renteria. The contracts for Affeldt and Howry seem reasonable, but in a month or two, would those prices have come down like Furcal or a gallon of gas?
The Giants weren’t interested in finding out. You can ding them for not being patient. But isn’t this what you want, a team willing to spend a little extra to make sure it gets its man (or men)? And with Furcal obviously unwilling to meet the Giants’ terms in November (too bad for him), Renteria was the man to get as long as the contract was short-term.
It’s the opposite of the notorious punted draft pick, forgoing a possible top talent to save a million or two. It reinforces the notion that the Giants aren’t worried too much about the economy, unlike teams in smaller markets. (I’m re-upping my season tickets, for what it’s worth.) This doesn’t mean they should enter the Teixeira sweepstakes or spend $75 M for three years of Manny. But $13 million for a year of Adrian Beltre, as long as the Mariners don’t demand Jonathan Sanchez, shouldn’t break the bank.
And please, no more arguing the merits of the Renteria contract. Not until he shows up 20 pounds overweight in spring training. If you want to bicker, here’s today’s trade proposal, offered by my network chief Depressed Fan at the end of our roundtable discussion last week:
This wasn't a rumor, but a pipe dream proposed trade I saw on Baseball Prospectus a few weeks back. The Yanks send Hideki Matsui (and the difference in their salaries) to the Giants for Randy Winn. Interest you at all?
Two immediate reasons not to do this: Defense and handedness. The Giants would lose their best OF glove, Winn, and gain a below-average fielder. What’s more, Matsui would force Fred Lewis to RF, where Fred’s achilles heel, bad reads and jumps, would be exacerbated.
Matsui would add a power bat, but not as powerful as you might think. He’s slugged above .500 just once — and this with a home park that doesn’t just favor LH power hitters, it takes off their shoes and massages their feet with warm coconut oil. Mmm. Oh yeah, that feels good. Right there.
Now move him and his creaky body, currently recovering from knee surgery, to Mays Field, which for LH power hitters is more like a vat of boiling acid, and voila! Do not want.
