According to ESPN Jayson Stark, the Oakland Atheltics are on the verge of signing former Red Sox third baseman Adrian Beltre to a five-year, $64 million dollar contract.
While conflicting reports have surfaced, notably that the Athletics's GM Billy Beane was "baffled" upon hearing about the proposal, Stark belives that the A's are close, and could agree with Beltre as early as Thursday.
The A's would like to find a resolution quickly because they are trying to decide the fates of third basemen Kevin Kouzmanoff and Edwin Encarnacion, who are arbitration-eligible this winter. Still, excuse us for being skeptical. While the A's have reportedly made a five-year, $64 million offer to Beltre and the third baseman would prefer to play on the West Coast, his agent Scott Boras rarely acts this fast.