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Week in Review: 12/14 - 12/20

By Steve Adams [December 21, 2008 at 6:39pm CST]

Here's a look back at the major happenings of the past week:

Rafael Furcal re-signed with the Dodgers in about as controversial of a way as possible. Paul Kinzer, Furcal's agent, had asked Braves GM Frank Wren to fax him a terms sheet in order to complete a deal. The next morning, Kinzer backpedaled, told the Braves a deal wasn't in place, and Furcal signed with the Dodgers later in the day. Wren has sworn off working with Kinzer or any agents in his firm as a result. Furcal will get three years, $30MM from the Dodgers, the same figure Wren and the Braves had offered. If I were from Atlanta, I'd be pretty furious over this one.
Don't expect a Jake Peavy trade to happen this winter after all. Padres CEO Sandy Alderson says Peavy will be with the club on Opening Day. We did hear a rumbling about a possible move to Boston for the San Diego ace, however.
We heard a lot of talk about the Mike Cameron/Yankees possible trade during the Winter Meetings, and those talks resumed early in the week. However, just a few days later, the talks seemed to be dead. The Yankees want the Brewers to pay too much of Kei Igawa's salary, and Doug Melvin isn't budging.
The Phillies re-signed Jamie Moyer to a two-year, $16MM deal. Eight million per year at 45 years old... tough to complain about that if you're Moyer. The Phillies also inked Chan Ho Park to a one-year, $2.5MM deal.
Daniel Cabrera signed with the Nationals this week on a one-year, $2.6MM deal. Cabrera's arm has always been praised, but he's never put it together in the Majors. The Orioles non-tendered him last week. If a change of scenery can benefit Cabrera, the Nats will have gotten a solid arm for a minimal price. I wouldn't count too much on that scenario, however.
Adam Dunn's first choice for 2009? The Cubs. But is the interest mutual, and could he actually play an effective right field? Dunn says he's not looking for a huge deal, just a fair one.
The Yankees won't be going after Ben Sheets. They've already signed their highly talented, but highly injury-prone pitcher for the offseason in A.J. Burnett.
The Angels re-signed Juan Rivera to a three-year, $12.75MM deal. If he can return to his 2006 form, that'd be a great signing.
Matt Treanor signed with the Tigers to serve as a backup for Gerald Laird.
Kenshin Kamakawi is drawing a lot of interest in America. This week, we specifically heard about the Mets, Orioles, Cardinals, and Twins linked to Kawakami. The Twins seem like a strange fit, with their young rotation seemingly set, and especially in light of Ken Rosenthal suggesting that Kawakami may command a larger deal than Hiroki Kuroda's three-year, $35.3MM deal.
Here's a look at all the free agents following the 2009 season.
And just in case you were wondering, no... Barry Bonds isn't retiring yet. Think anyone's changed their stance on baseball's home run king?