I would doubt that anything is close. It’s pretty obvious that the Giants’ want Furcal, and would only sign Renteria if that falls through. Ken Rosenthal said last night that it’s pretty much between the A’s and Giants for Furcal. I don’t like bidding wars with teams like the Yankees and Mets, but I’m pretty sure the Giants’ can beat a team like the A’s for a player like Furcal. The Giants’ have more money, a much better ballpark, and Furcal is a career national leaguer. As for Renteria, it would make sense for the agent to make it sound like something is close, so other teams would get more aggressive. It also doesn’t hurt the Giants’ to give Furcal’s agent a little kick in the pants as well.

“When Renteria’s agent opened the envelope, it was empty. The agent turned to an associate and said, ‘Well, well, well. Lookee what we got here. A motherf***in’ Charlie Bronson!’”

I didn’t click on the link, so I’ll just pretend that the story contains something like that.

Renteria would cost the Giants a 2nd round pick while Furcal would cost nothing. That, along with the fact that Furcal is better and younger, would make me hope that they’re not seriously considering Renteria until Furcal signs elsewhere. With that said, I’d rather the Giants traded some minor league reliever for a decrepit Bobby Crosby than signing Renteria.

I doubt the Giants’ will lose Furcal to the A’s over one year. If the A’s blink and give Furcal the fourth year, Sabean will be blinking right behind them.