A's after Furcal, Mets are not

Free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal is quoted by the Dominican publication El Caribe that he's received offers from the A's and Mets, but I think he's only 1-for-2 with that contention.

Furcal said he had a four-year, $48 million offer from Oakland, and I wouldn't doubt that the A's have made him a big offer. After acquiring Matt Holliday, the A's seem primed to make another big winter splash.

However, I do doubt that the Mets have shown any serious interest in Furcal, whom they'd have to play at second base (they've got All-Star Jose Reyes at short). In fact, one person familiar with the Mets dealings said, flat out, "No offer has been made.''

Beyond that, Mets people agreed that they'd have to find a new team for Luis Castillo, their unwanted second baseman, before moving on to finding Castillo's replacement. And even if they did accomplish what appears to be the Herculean task of moving Castillo (for instance, the White Sox don't want Castillo for pitcher Javier Vazquez), they'd be much more inclined to play for free agent Orlando Hudson than for Furcal.

That all said, I still don't doubt the A's are major players here, and could in fact be the favorite to land Furcal, who's also drawn interest from the Giants, Cubs and Braves (who'd be especially interested if they trade shortstop Yunel Escobar). As was reported on SI.com first, back at the GM meetings, the Dodgers offered Furcal a two-year deal. That appears to be short if we take Furcal at his word that he got a four-year offer from Oakland.

El Caribe reports Furcal saying, "The offers made by the Athletics and the Mets of New York are tempting, but we'll make a decision after I meet with my lawyer because there are various factors we have to evaluate.''

One suggestion for Furcal: I wouldn't spend too much time evaluating the Mets because there's really no evidence they're interested.