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Rafael Furcal Rumors: Wednesday
9:31pm: The Royals hope to clear payroll to make room for Furcal, preferably by trading Jose Guillen. Orlando Cabrera is their backup plan. The Royals would eat some money to move Guillen, but predictably the market is "almost nonexistent."
The Royals believe Furcal requires a four-year, $44MM deal. Kinzer has four offers for Furcal currently, all for three or four years. The surprising implication is that the Dodgers went past two years.
2:50pm: Buster Olney says the A's met again with Furcal last night. Apparently Oakland's four-year offer had been worth about $36MM. Meanwhile Steve Phillips says Royals GM Dayton Moore asked ownership for more money to sign Furcal.
2:07am: Richard Griffin suggests the Blue Jays are just being used by Kinzer to add negotiating power.
12:10am: The most important takeaway from yesterday's Rafael Furcal rumors: his agent Paul Kinzer told Ken Rosenthal the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Royals, and A's are in the running. Furcal still wants four years. We also have word from Yahoo's Tim Brown that the Orioles are in on Furcal, and the list might at times include the Indians. Brown says the O's would sign Furcal as a complement to Mark Teixeira.
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Naw.
If LA has even slightly crept back in the Furcal running, they'll sign him. 3+ vesting option (a compromise for both parties).
Posted by: abcrazy4dodgers | December 10, 2008 at 12:13 AM
So the O's want Furcal and Tex. The combination of these potential signings would drastically change that team into a competitor. The pitching may not be ideal, but that offense would sure click with Furcal and Roberts at the top and Tex, Markakis, Weiters, and Mora in the middle.
Posted by: mtzxc | December 10, 2008 at 12:15 AM
i disagree... no way they contend with those guys.. there pitching sucks and hello. they still play in the AL EAST
Posted by: Focs | December 10, 2008 at 12:22 AM
We don't know what the Orioles rotation will be next season but they have good pitching in the minors so if they did sign those two, it would still most likely a year before their good young pitchers are called up so the goal would be contending in 2010 and Furcal and Teixeira would already be in place which would allow them to focus on other needs.
Posted by: BraveOriole | December 10, 2008 at 12:33 AM
If the O's do indeed have good pitching down on the farm, they'd be smart---especially in this division---to let it develop, and let go of the dream for a year or three. Seriously.
Posted by: abcrazy4dodgers | December 10, 2008 at 12:46 AM
The dodgers should sign Manny and CC. Then play Berroa at SS.
Posted by: NedCollettiClueless | December 10, 2008 at 12:55 AM
Berroa over Hu? Why?
Posted by: vtadave | December 10, 2008 at 01:16 AM
O's have 3 pitchers in the top 40 of MLB.coms top 50 prospects. And knowing them they will get another pitcher this coming draft. But they need to improve Offensively too.
A line up like this:
2B (S) B.Roberts
SS (S) R.Furcal
RF (L) N.Markakis
1B (S) M.Teixeira
DH (L) A.Huff
C (S) M.Wieters
LF (L) L.Scott/(R) L.Montanez
CF (R) A Jones
3B (R) M.Mora
Would be a top offense and defense. Also might help convince a good pitcher to sign.
Posted by: XD23 | December 10, 2008 at 01:17 AM
Would definitely be a nice lineup, but face reality, there's no chance you sign both of them, and your rotation is horrible, and will be horrible for atleast 2 more years.
Posted by: juiced | December 10, 2008 at 02:08 AM
Furcal knows that his best chance at being competitive is with Oakland. He just wants to get more money.
Posted by: green_and_gold | December 10, 2008 at 02:26 AM
Pitching is very odd. But pitching gets better when it has a good defense behind it.
Also I think these moves would be more suited for getting the team ready for 2010. When 2 of the 3 pitchers from the top 40 Prospects list is projected to be in the majors.
Those two players should push Roberts and Markakis into signing extensions.
Of course I am just praying the O's go after anyone but C.Izturis.
Posted by: XD23 | December 10, 2008 at 02:56 AM
"Furcal knows that his best chance at being competitive is with Oakland. He just wants to get more money."
Maybe you forgot about the Dodgers... they'll be more competitive than the A's next year.
Posted by: DodgersBruin | December 10, 2008 at 04:49 AM
"Maybe you forgot about the Dodgers... they'll be more competitive than the A's next year."
Only because they play in the once division that is definitely easier than the AL West. No division has been seriously up for grabs like the NL West has been for the past 5 years...
Not saying the AL West isn't a soft division, but c'mon, NL West is cake if someone would actually show up for once...
Posted by: oaklandathleticsince88 | December 10, 2008 at 05:12 AM
Yeah defense and ground ball pitchers can make a pitching staff look amazing. The Jays have been living off the formula for the last few years. I mean look how well Jesse Litsch has pitched for the jays. When you compare his stats to other pitchers in the league with around equal stats I'm sure you'll say he is not as good a pitcher as they are.
Posted by: Devmac | December 10, 2008 at 08:13 AM
I know the odds are not in our favor, but with Furcal, the KC lineup would look something like:
1) Furcal
2) DeJesus
3) Aviles
4) Guillen
5) Jacobs
6) Butler
7) Gordon
8) Crisp
9) Olivo
That team looks like a real Major League Lineup. It would also buy the Royals some time to build up their farm system.
We'll find out.
Posted by: Grover'sRoyals | December 10, 2008 at 08:53 AM
If the Royals could get Furcal to sign with them and then get some decent pitching that would be a decent team. Since almost all the teams in the Al Central have been atop of the divison so maybe its the Royals turn...probably not but who knows lol
Posted by: Larsen101 | December 10, 2008 at 09:05 AM
come on Glass give Dayton the $$ he needs to get Furcal signed
Posted by: agordon04 | December 10, 2008 at 02:55 PM
the A's have no chance competing with the angels next year.. 2010 maybe.
The dodgers better do something quick, with CC signing today and Manny being Manny.. The players will very soon be coming off the board..
100 million dollars to sign Manny to a 3 year deal worth 65 million and a 3 year deal for furcal for 35 plus a option year
Posted by: 661dodgerblue | December 10, 2008 at 03:17 PM
What about this Oakland lineup?
Furcal SS
Sweeney CF
Cust DH
Holliday LF
Chavez 3B
Suzuki C
Buck RF
Ellis 2B
Barton 1B
That is a good 1-7. Buck will continue what he did when he came back from Sacramento. If Ellis and Barton can even hit league average, you have a good, formidable lineup. If you sign a 1B, it gets even better.
The pitching is young, but it will not be bad. With a good lineup, the pitchers can relax knowing that if they make a mistake or two, the lineup will be there to back them up.
The AL West is going to be between Oakland and Anaheim. The Angels missed out on Sabathia, lost K-Rod, and are losing out on Tex. It only helps that their lineup is only getting older too.
Posted by: green_and_gold | December 10, 2008 at 03:25 PM
havent heard any other team offering this injury-risk player more than 4 years yet....
Hes pretty much an idiot for not taking Oaklands offer. In this market and economy a player like him isnt going to get a 4 year deal from anyone.
Posted by: PL | December 10, 2008 at 03:27 PM
Angels are losing Garland, Teixiera and K-Rod and not replacing them, A's get the best offensive player in the division now (tied maybe with Josh Hamilton). Angels pythag W-L was 88-74 last year, there's no way they come within 10 games of Oakland this year.
Posted by: PL | December 10, 2008 at 03:30 PM
who says the angels arent going to get Tex back? please believe if they lose him they will get somebody to fill the hole
Arte Moreno is willing to spend and wants the team to win every year..
figgins-3rd
kendrick-2nd
Vladdy-rf/dh
hunter-cf
napoli-c
aybar/wood-ss
morales-1st
fill in the holes.. and that lineup is still better than the A's
Posted by: 661dodgerblue | December 10, 2008 at 03:48 PM
Oh by the way Holliday is going to love hitting 300+ plus times in the AL version of petco..
Posted by: 661dodgerblue | December 10, 2008 at 03:52 PM
Mark Teixeira Rumors: Wednesday
By Tim Dierkes [December 10 at 2:35pm CST]
2:35pm: Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times has the Nats willing to offer ten years at more than $20MM per and the Orioles willing to do nine years also at at least $20MM per year.
1:27pm: Ken Rosenthal and Ed Price heard Teixeira would prefer to be on the East Coast for family reasons. It could be an issue for the Angels.
No way, The Angels go near that offer, and Anaheim isn't on the East Coast. Tex is getting good offers from teams in the DC, near where he grew up. The only big bat out there is Manny, who is really on getting offers from the Dodgers. Angels lose a huge bat and Oakland gains Holliday.
If the A's get Furcal, it'll be close. If the A's get a real 1B, Oakland will win the division.
Posted by: green_and_gold | December 10, 2008 at 03:56 PM
Oakland isn't as bad as Petco, but he's going to love hitting in Texas and Anaheim a lot more than San Diego and San Francisco.
Posted by: green_and_gold | December 10, 2008 at 03:58 PM
if Holliday puts up better numbers than Vladdy next year i would be very surprised..
Lackey
Santana
Saunders
Weaver
is better than
Duke
Eveland(i grew up playing baseball with his brother, i love dana) so im not bashing by any means
Galagher
Gonzalez
and its not close.
Posted by: 661dodgerblue | December 10, 2008 at 04:09 PM
First off, 661dodgerblue, if Vlad outhits Holliday next season i'll personally send you $100 and a cookie with blue frosting. Holliday will hit at least .310/.380/.530 in Oakland and put a stop to how much people knock him down because of his entire career being played at Coors field. The guy is a professional hitter in the prime of his career. He will hit wherever he goes, and will make everyone around him in the lineup better as well. If Vlad can stay healthy i'll give him a .295/.355/.510 line and that's being generous. Don't forget, Vlad is in decline and Holliday is just entering the prime of his career. Let's be real.
Secondly let's try this lineup
1. Furcal SS
2. Cust DH
3. Holliday LF
4. Giambi 1B
5. Chavez 3B
6. Suzuki C
7. Buck RF
8. Ellis 2B
9. Sweeney CF
I'm sorry, but i'll take that lineup over the Angels' all day long. They'll have a lot of speed on the bench with Davis and Pennington when its time to get Cust/Giambi off the basepaths late in games. It's well balanced, and well mixed with Vet's and young guys. Barton can spend 09' in AAA getting back on track until there's an injury, and get his shot in 2010 again.
I'll give the Angels the nod on the rotation, but the A's rotation has a chance to be solid if they sign a Johnson/Penny type. Gallagher and Eveland both have #2 stuff and may suprise next season, but either way i'll take the Angels starters. The bullpen's are pretty close, but I like the A's over the Angels in that department. I'm not saying the A's are a lock, but it's much closer then you make it out to be. Substanitally upgrading at 3 different positions and adding a solid starter is a good offseason. Especially when you have young developing players, and your rival just got worse.
Posted by: jpshark | December 10, 2008 at 05:05 PM
okay ill give you my address..
.303 .365 .521
with 27 homers and 91 rbis last year..
i dont know how you can think hes not going to hit next year.. Vladdy has hit his whole entire career, his stats are almost identical anywhere he hits, any time, and in any park..
Holliday doesnt deserve to be in the same conversation with Vlad..
and secondly..
eric chavez? really? he hasnt been a factor on the field in three years.
you havent signed furcal, and you are not the front runner..
you have not signed giambi
when the 7th inning comes into play a lefty reliever will destroy the middle of your lineup.. hmm darren oliver?
Posted by: 661dodgerblue | December 10, 2008 at 05:37 PM
i really like the A's i love their young pitching in the minors, i saw alot of anderson and cahill.. awesome pitchers..
but its not gonna happen next year..
Posted by: 661dodgerblue | December 10, 2008 at 05:47 PM
Gammons just called us the frontrunners to land Furcal on Sportscenter
Posted by: agordon04 | December 10, 2008 at 06:21 PM
"Kinzer has four offers for Furcal currently, all for three or four years."
Sorry KC, if LA has "budged" over 2 as alleged, I'd have to reaffirm my position in first post of this thread :D
Posted by: abcrazy4dodgers | December 10, 2008 at 09:40 PM
man....I'm really hoping we can pull this off and slide Aviles over to second base.....defensive improvement and makes the lineup much better as well.
Let's get it done Dayton!
Posted by: KC Hot Corner | December 10, 2008 at 09:46 PM
"The surprising implication is that the Dodgers went past two years."
sooo, who is the front runner
Posted by: 661dodgerblue | December 10, 2008 at 09:48 PM
Jeff Passan's article: "Were the Royals unable to trade Guillen, they could clear payroll by trading or non-tendering arbitration-eligible players such as infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen, catcher John Buck and utilityman Esteban German. Whether that would be enough to satisfy owner David Glass, the source said, is doubtful."
Doesn't look like anything for Royals faithful to get too exited about. Side note, has Teahan's stock dropped so much as to be non-tendered??
Posted by: abcrazy4dodgers | December 10, 2008 at 09:51 PM
The A's are going to win the devison if they get furcal and Giami. I would think the A's lineup will look something like this
1. Raphael Furcal/Orlando Cabrera
2. Kurt Suzuki
3. Matt Holliday
4. Jason Giambi
5. Eric Chavez
6. Jack Cust
7. Mark Ellis
8. Ryan Sweeney
9. Travis Buck
Now that would be a hard ofence to pitch against.
Posted by: Briggs | December 10, 2008 at 10:28 PM
MARK ELLIS NAMED HIS SON AFTER ME!!!!!
Posted by: Briggs | December 10, 2008 at 10:28 PM
And this would be a preaty good rotation
1. Justin Duchscherer
2. Dana Eveland
3. Randy Johnson
4. Brett Anderson
5. Trevor Cahill
Posted by: Briggs | December 10, 2008 at 10:29 PM
Briggs....
Furcal is another of the "dominoes waiting to fall" that will determine what happens to the value of Cabrera. So even if Furcal is signed by somebody else (have I mentioned LAD? lol) O-Cab's value spike may make Crosby look like the man at SS again. Nonetheless, to say the A's "are going to win the division" with your possible projected lineup (and provided the Angels have somehow been relocated by a highly PMS'ed San Andreas Fault occurance) is a great prediction.
Posted by: abcrazy4dodgers | December 10, 2008 at 10:39 PM
abcrazy4dodgers, I have a hard time believing that the Dodgers are going to go 4 years when they have Hu damn near ready to bring up. DM is going to mess around and sign Furcal. Furcal is a much better fit in KC since we don't have anybody in the system. As good as Aviles was, he will be even more valuable as a 2B. If it means getting Furcal, non-tender how many ever players it takes to get to 11M per. Then get Greinke locked up.
Posted by: Grover'sRoyals | December 10, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Grover, I'd have to think that if years and money were close for LA, and the mind-set of the player---ability to win, familiarity as far as picking up and moving, and especially the questionable quote I noted in Passan's article---I don't think KC is a player.
Posted by: abcrazy4dodgers | December 10, 2008 at 11:12 PM
abc, you seem to be pretty defensive about letting Furcal go, especially to those lowly pitiful Royals. Heaven forbid the little guy spend money..
Posted by: jhawk4life513 | December 10, 2008 at 11:24 PM
I don't see KC getting Furcal either. But to hear the O's say that they would sign Furcal as a compliment to Tex is suprising to me. We have a decent chance to land Tex, but I don't see Furcal coming too. That would give us one hell of a lineup. But starting pitching was supposed to be our priority this off season. Seems like Burnett is out of the picture now, and I haven't heard anything about the O's signing any veteran pitchers which is scary
Posted by: Baltimore O's Fan | December 10, 2008 at 11:28 PM
jhawk, defensive is a funny characterization. But if you seriously think the Royals can pull it off, then read Passan's article 15 times, then call the NYTA about the availability of the Brooklyn Bridge for purchase opportunities.
Posted by: abcrazy4dodgers | December 10, 2008 at 11:35 PM
I dont care how many times you read one person's article, its still just one guy's information. Its funny to see you swarming around all of furcal's articles to remark how he is not going anywhere, and im defensive..
Posted by: jhawk4life513 | December 10, 2008 at 11:49 PM
Grover, sorry I skimmed over the Hu thing entirely....
He is a decent prospect, but unfortunate situations including a "vision injury(?)" hampered his progression enough to put 2008 organizational minor leaguer of the year Ivan DeJesus Jr. ahead of Hu in their plans. With that said, if they can retain a player of Furcal's caliber through the ages of 33 or 35, he's 31) you go with the known commodity---provided he's the same player he was when healthy.
Posted by: abcrazy4dodgers | December 10, 2008 at 11:55 PM
jhawk, I'm just speculating. =)
Posted by: abcrazy4dodgers | December 10, 2008 at 11:57 PM