Rafael Furcal appears to be drawing quite a bit of interest with free agency in its early stages. Jorge Castillo of the Star Ledger reports that the Mets have already reached out to the former Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star, and Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that as many as five to six teams have shown early interest.
Furcal, who turned 36 just two weeks ago, didn't play in 2013 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but should be healthy for the 2014 season. Castillo notes that Furcal participated in fielding drills with the Cardinals prior to postseason games without any noticeable hindrance.
Furcal flopped in his final season with the Dodgers, prompting a trade to the Cardinals where he restored quite a bit of his value. Furcal helped the Cards to the 2011 World Series, and his strong performance in St. Louis was enough to earn him a two-year, $14MM contract that offseason. Furcal spent 171 regular-season games in a Cardinals uniform from 2011-12, slashing .262/.323/.367 with 12 homers and 16 stolen bases in 748 plate appearances.
In addition to the Mets, contenders such as the Pirates and Cardinals have a need at shortstop. The Twins have little stability at the position outside of Pedro Florimon's defensive wizardry, and other teams such as the A's and Indians could make sense. Oakland could play Jed Lowrie at second base and use Furcal as a bridge to top prospect Addison Russell, while the Indians, who likely would be open to dealing Asdrubal Cabrera, could use Furcal as a bridge to Francisco Lindor in the event of such a trade. Doing so would allow them to reallocate some or all of Cabrera's $10MM salary to fill other needs.
