| DALLAS -- Uncertainty also continued to swirl around that other marquee free agent, Alex Rodriguez.
The most visible signs of negotiating life seemed to point toward A-Rod moving closer to a huge, 12-year deal with Texas.
The Rangers brought a big delegation, including owner Tom Hicks himself, to a four-hour meeting Sunday afternoon with Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras. Then the Rangers and Boras reconvened for more talks Sunday night.
But even as all that was going on, baseball people were still suggesting A-Rod could land on one of those teams seemingly lurking in the background -- meaning the Braves, Mets and Dodgers.
Which was why Rangers GM Doug Melvin sounded as cautious as he was optimistic Sunday.
"There have been a lot of negotiations that have gone on where I sometimes felt I was being used," he said. "In fact, I think I was used in one this year already. But in this one, I think we're giving it our best shot. And I don't get the sense that we're being used in this one."
Nevertheless, the most intriguing A-Rod development of the day was that Boras finally met with the Mets' delegation Sunday for the first time since the Mets dropped a bomb on the A-Rod negotiations a month ago. That meeting was about a number of topics. But sources said A-Rod was definitely on the agenda.
A source said the Mets felt Boras might be on the verge of wrapping up a deal with A-Rod elsewhere. So if there was any chance that these talks might be reopened, they thought they should at least get a view of the landscape.
There was no indication that the Braves or Dodgers had gotten any more actively involved. But the Braves have nevertheless communicated their interest, on their own no-frills terms. And the Dodgers continue to talk to Boras on a regular basis on any number of topics. So there are still a number of baseball people predicting they could swoop back in on A-Rod at the last minute.
With many teams scheduled to leave the meetings and head home Monday night, and given Boras' love for the big stage, don't be surprised to see him standing on it sometime Monday, announcing the contract whopper of all time. | |
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