The Giants were not prepared to say whether they submitted any formal offers on opening day of the free-agent shopping season Friday, but an official acknowledged the team has made contact with agent Scott Boras, who represents top-hitting free agents Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez.
"We've maintained contact with all of the top free agents to some degree with the understanding that we're willing to go after the best talent we can," director of player personnel Bobby Evans said.
The Giants had spoken to pitcher CC Sabathia's representatives but as of Tuesday had not talked to Boras. That has changed.
Teixeira or Sabathia would represent great long-term solutions for the Giants at first base and on the mound. Evans said it is too early to tell whether these are pie-in-the-sky dreams that will be shot down by offers from big-money clubs. Reports from New York say the Yankees faxed Sabathia a $140 million offer for six years.
The Giants' more realistic targets are a middle infielder and bullpen setup men. As of midday, they had not submitted a formal offer for Rafael Furcal, the premier shortstop on the market and one of their supposed targets. Furcal should have plenty of suitors, including Oakland, and is believed to be seeking four years at $10 million per for openers.
Furcal's agent, Paul Kinzer, said Friday there is a potential match with the Giants. "I'll just say we've got serious interest in each other," Kinzer said. "He likes the Giants and they've expressed serious interest."
Asked why Furcal would consider the Giants over teams closer to the postseason, Kinzer said, "Their great young pitching staff. He feels they can be competitive pretty quick."
Other shortstops on the market include Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, Juan Uribe and Cesar Izturis. The Giants are not ruling out second basemen, either.
The Giants are believed to be interested in one of their former draft picks, Cubs reliever Bobby Howry. Howry's agent, Craig Landis, said in an e-mail, "Howry does have some interest in returning to the Giants. It may be a possibility. It is too early to tell."
Evans said the Giants have some interest in all experienced relievers on the market but does not expect closers such as Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes or Trevor Hoffman to be interested in coming to San Francisco to set up Brian Wilson.
Zito's mother dies: Funeral arrangements are pending for Roberta Zito, Barry's mother, who died in Los Angeles early Thursday morning. She was 65 and had been hospitalized for three days. The cause of death was not immediately known, but she had struggled with health issues for many years, according to the pitcher's publicist, Kathy Jacobson.
Jacobson said Barry Zito was "heartbroken, as you would imagine, with the loss of his mom. She really was the heart of the family."
The pitcher, his father, Joe, and sisters Bonnie and Sally were at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center when Roberta died. Jacobson said Mrs. Zito attended all of Barry's starts in Oakland and San Francisco until a hip and knee replacement this year prevented her from traveling. She did see Zito's final start of 2008.
Roberta Zito was a member of the Merry Young Souls, the backup group for singer Nat King Cole, when she met Joe in the early 1960s. Joe Zito was a composer and conductor for Cole. They married in 1964.
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