CS85 Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 $40 million over 3 years. Cubs and Braves passed up for the highest dollar. ____________Free agent Rafael Furcal has agreed in principle to a three-year contract with the Dodgers that would make him one of the highest paid shortstops ever, a source close to the negotiations said Saturday. The deal would guarantee Furcal, 28, nearly $40 million.He is expected to take a physical Sunday and a news conference could be held in Dallas on Monday, the first day of baseball's winter meetings.ADVERTISEMENTFurcal, who has played his entire six-year career with the Atlanta Braves, is a fleet switch-hitter with excellent range and a strong arm. He has a .284 lifetime batting average and last season had 46 stolen bases, 31 doubles, 11 triples and 12 home runs. He has averaged 107 runs scored the last four seasons.Furcal chose the Dodgers over the Braves and the Chicago Cubs, who offered slightly less than $50 million over five years. The Braves wouldn't go higher than $36 million over four years.The $13-million average annual value of the deal is significantly more than the $40-million, four-year deal the Boston Red Sox gave shortstop Edgar Renteria a year ago. Shortstop Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees makes nearly $20 million a year and Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles makes $11 million a year.Alex Rodriguez signed a 10-year deal for $252 million in 2001 to play shortstop for the Texas Rangers, but he has since moved to third base with the Yankees.Dodger shortstop Cesar Izturis, who won the Gold Glove award in 2004, is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is not expected to play until July. With Furcal in the fold, Izturis is expected to move to second base and Jeff Kent would play first base.Izturis will be in the second year of a three-year contract and Kent has one year left on his contract.Landing Furcal is a significant coup for new Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti, who only three days ago was spurned by free agent outfielder Brian Giles. Giles resigned with the San Diego Padres for nearly $5 million less than the Dodgers were offering over three years, citing family considerations.The Dodgers plan to remain aggressive in the free agent market. They are expected to sign either Bill Mueller or Joe Randa to play third base and have made offers to several free agent starting pitchers. Obtaining a power-hitting outfielder is also a priority. Quote "You are nothing more than a small cancer on this message board. You are not entertaining, you are a complete joke." twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CS85 Posted December 4, 2005 Author Share Posted December 4, 2005 This pisses me off. The Cubs are now screwed at shortstop. I hope they land Pierre, and get that Mench/Soriano trade pulled off. Quote "You are nothing more than a small cancer on this message board. You are not entertaining, you are a complete joke." twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingssss Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Yesss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJTank Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Buh bye Braves www.sportsecyclopedia.com For the best in sports history go to the Sports E-Cyclopedia at http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhambruiser Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 This pisses me off. The Cubs are now screwed at shortstop. I hope they land Pierre, and get that Mench/Soriano trade pulled off. yep- hopefully howry and eyre are not all the cubs are going to end up with this winter. Millican StudiosMillican Studios Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz615 Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 This pisses me off. The Cubs are now screwed at shortstop. I hope they land Pierre, and get that Mench/Soriano trade pulled off. Sad but true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amare32 Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 So now the Dodgers have 3 middle infielders (Furcal, Kent, Izturis) for only 2 spots. Either they move Kent to 1B or Izturis languishes on the bench. And for the record, Furcal is not a $13.3M per year player. More power to the Dodgers for spending their dough this way. Go Diamondbacks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discrim Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 This pisses me off. The Cubs are now screwed at shortstop. I hope they land Pierre, and get that Mench/Soriano trade pulled off. not necessarily...I got a good feeling about Neifi A strong mind gets high off success, a weak mind gets high off bull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightinIrish11 Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 i also have a good feeling about neifi. just look at what he did in nomar's absense last season. neifi really stepped up when someone needed to. maybe the cubs werent winning with that, but neifi was more than pulling his weight. neifi has already fit in nicely with the cubs, i think. and as much as i have always loved nomar, it's time to part ways. and whats this about mench/soriano? i'm excited about one of those two coming to chicago. cubs are gonna have a good season. i have a VERY good feeling about 2006, and not just for the cubs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacker12 Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Oh, well. At least we've got Wilson Betemit ready to fill his shoes. Now, we just need to see if we can find a closer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiddySicks Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Ahhh dammit. The frickin Giants better pull in some LARGE names this year or we'll be sitting in forth for all eternity On 11/19/2012 at 7:23 PM, oldschoolvikings said: She’s still half convinced “Chris Creamer” is a porn site.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amare32 Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 i also have a good feeling about neifi. just look at what he did in nomar's absense last season. neifi really stepped up when someone needed to. maybe the cubs werent winning with that, but neifi was more than pulling his weight. neifi has already fit in nicely with the cubs, i think. and as much as i have always loved nomar, it's time to part ways. and whats this about mench/soriano? i'm excited about one of those two coming to chicago. cubs are gonna have a good season. i have a VERY good feeling about 2006, and not just for the cubs Neifi's not the answer. You've gotten the best their is to get w/ Neifi. The Cubs should trade for Julio Lugo, who would be very effective hitting in Wrigley. He's add speed, solid defense and he'd score runs.Consider --Julio Lugo (2005): 616 AB, .362 OBP, .403 SLG, .765 OPS, 89 R. Neifi Perez (2005): 572 AB, .298 OBP, .383 SLG, .681 OPS, 59 R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc49erfan15 Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Wow, he's 28? I definitely remember him starting for the Braves at like...12. I feel old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiasco! Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Oh, well. At least we've got Wilson Betemit ready to fill his shoes. Now, we just need to see if we can find a closer. betemit definitely deserves the shot, but i can see the tigers packaging pudge and omar infante for johnny estrada. (crosses fingers as a tigers fan). infante is a promising young infielder that would fill the gap left by furcal. LinkedIn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Braves aren't gonna take on Pudge Rodriguez's age and contract when they have a veritable fountain of minor league talent that has supplied Estrada, McCann, and Saltalamacchia. ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacker12 Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 I don't see the Braves giving up Estrada. He had a bad year because of his back injury caused by when Erstad ran him over at home plate. He was starting to heat up until that injury. Also, they better not get rid of him after I spent $125 for a customized replica with his name and number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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