Courtesy of Baseball Think Factory via the Press-Enterprise via El Caribe, Rafael Furcal has been offered a four-year/$48MM contract by the Oakland A's.  On a day when the federal government is ready to rescue Citigroup, we learn the A's have money to burn on a 31-year-old coming off back surgery.

This really has a through-the-looking-glass feel to it.  Did the Oakland A's sell short asset-backed securities a year ago?  How did they go from crying poverty to finding $25MM this season for Furcal and Holliday?

UPDATE:  The San Francisco Chronicle reports an A's source saying this is "untrue".