Source: Furcal nearing deal with Braves

[Justin5 20]

I'm not a fan of this move. We already have Escobar who is younger/better/cheaper/healthier. I know getting Peavy would be nice, but we need to think long term and the Padre's are demanding a king's ransom to get him. I'm only somewhat okay with this move if we put Escobar at 2B, and move Johnson back to the OF.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3772663

Free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal moved closer to a deal with the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, but a source familiar with the situation told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that a report that the two sides have reached agreement pending a physical exam is premature.

"He wants to come [to Atlanta] and the interest is mutual,'' the source said, "but it's not there yet.''

The source added that the Braves are "confident" they will reach a deal with Furcal, who won a rookie of the year award with the Braves in 2000 and spent his first six major league seasons in Atlanta.

Foxsports.com, citing a major league source, had reported that a contract agreement is expected to be announced on Tuesday, pending Furcal passing a physical, according to the report. The deal is believed to be for three years with a vesting option for a fourth season.

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reported Monday that the Oakland Athletics had offered Furcal a four-year, $40 million deal. But Furcal is said to prefer returning to one of the two teams he has played for -- the Braves or the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"[The Braves] are in deep. He's seriously considering it," Furcal's agent, Paul Kinzer, said Monday, according to FoxSports.com.

Signing Furcal could allow the Braves to move shortstop Yunel Escobar to second base or market him in a trade. Escobar had been part of discussions in a potential trade for San Diego Padres starter Jake Peavy.

Furcal spent the last three seasons with the Dodgers, but played in only 36 games last season due to back issues.

A career .286 hitter, Furcal, 31, has missed 150 games over the past two seasons but makes an impact when he does play. He batted .357, with a .439 on-base percentage, in 36 games for the Dodgers last season, after hitting .270 with 25 steals in 2007.

Jerry Crasnick covers Major League Baseball for ESPN.com. ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney contributed to this report.

[BigSammyK 171]

I think if the deal goes through we're going to be dealing either Escobar or Johnson and Fookie will be the 2B. Yes I know he has a cannon for an arm, but so does Yunel and I really think that Yunel fields his position a lot better then Fookie.

I'm not so sure that we're willing to part with Yunel unless we're certain to get Peavy but I COULD see us dealing Kelly for possibly a big bat in the outfield or somehow getting Oswalt out of Houston.

Either that or fookie and his laser beam just became our 5th starter

[BigSammyK 171]

Looks like its a deal pending a physical. Moving Kelly to left and platooning him with Diaz is pretty sweet. Pleeeeeeeeeease stay healthy Fookie!

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article...sp&c_id=atl

ATLANTA -- The Braves are looking forward to the opportunity to once again place Rafael Furcal at the top of their lineup. At the same time, they're looking forward to having both Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar in that same lineup.

A Major League source confirmed Tuesday morning that Furcal and the Braves have agreed to the terms of a three-year contract that includes a vesting option for the 2012 season.

Furcal, who previously played in Atlanta from 2000-05, must undergo a physical, and it was unclear if he'd be able to do so on Tuesday. Until then, the Braves can only assume that they'll once again have his speedy presence in their leadoff spot.

Where Furcal would be positioned defensively remains to be seen. But the Braves have no intention to trade either Johnson or Escobar. Instead, they are planning to move Johnson back to left field, a position he played before moving to second base before the start of the 2007 season.

The opportunity to have both Furcal and Johnson in their lineup proved more appealing to the Braves than any of the options they were evaluating in their search to find a power-hitting outfielder.

With Johnson, they feel they have a player capable of hitting 15-20 homers. Matt Diaz could also see some time in left field.

It hasn't been revealed where Furcal will be positioned. But there's reason to believe he'll play second base and Escobar will remain at shortstop.

While previously playing for the Braves, Furcal hit .284 with a .348 on-base percentage and 189 stolen bases. The Braves haven't had a player record more than 17 stolen bases during any of the three seasons that Furcal has played for the Dodgers.

[Justin5 20]

Sources: Furcal back with Dodgers

LOS ANGELES -- Rafael Furcal is staying with the Los Angeles Dodgers, reaching a preliminary agreement Wednesday on a three-year contract.

Sources tell ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney that the deal is for $30 million, the same total that Furcal was close to accepting from his former team, the Atlanta Braves, a day earlier.

Furcal will receive $6.5 million the first year, $8.5 million the second, $12 million in 2011 and will receive a $3 million bonus at the end of the contract. He receives a vesting option for a fourth year that can be achieved if Furcal reaches about 600 plate appearances in the third year of the contract. The Associated Press reports that he would earn $12 million in that fourth year.

Furcal finalized his decision late in the afternoon, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was still not yet official.

The Braves felt that they were on the verge of making their deal official on Tuesday.

"From our perspective, we reached an agreement Monday night," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "They asked for a term sheet for us to sign on Tuesday morning, and we sent over the signed termed sheet. It was then that his agent [Paul Kinzer] informed us that [Kinzer's] partner had been in contact with the Dodgers.

"We still think there are players out there who can help us put the team together. Obviously, we began the offseason thinking about acquiring a power bat in the outfield, but when we had a chance to get a dynamic leadoff hitter and a solid fielder like Furcal, we took a very hard look at it."

Earlier Wednesday, Kinzer said Furcal had never accepted the Braves' offer.

"They know we didn't have a signed contract, that we didn't have even a verbal agreement. We had, 'Things look very good and Raffy's going to sleep on it,'" Kinzer said after a news conference for another client, Francisco Rodriguez.

The 31-year-old Furcal, coming off a $39 million, three-year deal with the Dodgers, played for the Braves from 2000-05.

He hit .357 with five homers and 16 RBIs last season but was limited to 36 games and 143 at-bats by back problems. He had back surgery July 3 and was sidelined until the season's final week, but started each of the Dodgers' eight postseason games, hitting .258 with one homer, three RBIs and nine runs scored.

Furcal was hitting .366 through May 5 before injuring his back. He reached base in his first 30 games of the season, becoming the first Dodger to accomplish that feat since Duke Snider in his first 34 games of the 1955 season.

Furcal still owns a home in the Atlanta area, but owns another in nearby La Canada Flintridge as well.

Los Angeles hesitated to make an offer of more than two years because of Furcal's medical history, but general manager Ned Colletti has been saying for weeks that signing the shortstop was his immediate top priority.

Colletti can turn his attention to pitching and free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez. A pair of Los Angeles starters, Derek Lowe and Brad Penny, became free agents.

Buster Olney covers Major League Baseball for ESPN The Magazine. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3776705

[BigSammyK 171]

Annoying!