Nomar Garciaparra is deciding between the Oakland Athletics and retirement, according to Ken Rosenthal. Nomar would be a good versatile player to sign and in a Jack Hannahan-type of role, he would actually be quite the upgrade because, as Rosenthal notes, he could be a nice insurance policy at third base and at first when the A's need to give Barton some time to think about his poolside activities.
Thing is, Rosenthal also notes this:
The signing of Garciaparra would not preclude the A's from signing Cabrera, sources say. However, the team could make higher bids for both Cabrera and Reyes if Garciaparra no longer were in the picture.
Honestly if I have to choose between having Nomar OR bringing in both Dennys Reyes and Orlando Cabrera, for me, it's a no-brainer. Let Nomar go play goalkeeper for Mia Hamm with his newly-found free time. I know, Rosenthal didn't say it was an either/or situation, but to me it sounds like it could be. In an ideal world, you sign Cabrera, dump Crosby, sign Reyes and also bring aboard Nomar as that insurance policy since you never know what's going to happen with Eric Chavez at third.
None of these players are ideal. Reyes would be a very good signing in my opinion because it would really nicely round out the A's bullpen and be a nice stroke at shortening the game for the A's young pitching staff which has clearly been a Beane directive. Nomar is a nice versatile bench player at this point, but he's not the answer to the A's prayers and Cabrera is an upgrade over Bobby Crosby but the way Crosby has played the last few seasons, that isn't saying all that much.
Still I hope that Billy and company aren't letting the Nomar signing stand in the way of them offering more for Cabrera and Reyes cause that would be plain wrong. Nomar gives the A's versatility, but Cabera would give the A's an upgrade on a daily basis at a crucial position and Reyes would help deepen the A's bullpen.
It's interesting that it suddenly doesn't feel like the A's are done with the hot stove. I guess a bad economy will keep that stove going all spring long. At least it gives us something to do in between the games that mean absolutely nothing.
