It appears that Brian Sabean is the first contestant for this year’s “Who Were They Bidding Against?”, the baseball game show where GMs foolishly spend money when they might not have to.

He just signed a 33-year old shortstop to a 2 year, $18.5 million contract. I agree with Keith Law that it’s not a bad signing and won’t hurt them long term. I think Renteria will rebound back in the NL. But I have to wonder who else wanted Renteria’s services so badly that Sabean had to pay that much to get him to SF. He’s probably no more than an average fielder at this point and he’s coming off a horrendous season. I can’t believe that many teams were clamoring for him to be their shortstop, at least not so much as to enter into a bidding war.

I’m sure Sabean is not done yet–they need upgrades (lemme lemme upgrade) all over the diamond. This could turn out to be a bad signing if it precludes them from getting another player. I know there aren’t many shortstops available via free agency, but the price still seems outlandish.