Rafael Furcal Rumors

Olney's Latest: Lyon, Cabrera, Castillo

The latest from ESPN's Buster Olney. Olney says the Brewers "might take a look at" free agent reliever Brandon Lyon, who's been linked in other reports to the Twins and Red Sox. It's been reported that Lyon seeks a multiyear deal and may wait until Brian Fuentes signs. Nick Piecoro suggested that one unknown Lyon suitor views him as a starter. Olney says the Brewers will probably reach out to Trevor Hoffman, and the Dodgers will also take a look. He adds that the Dodgers will not attempt to re-sign Derek Lowe despite his sinking price tag. The Dodgers turned...   Continue Reading

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Furcal Comments On Braves

The AP has quotes from Rafael Furcal regarding the Braves negotiations: "We never, not my agents nor me, agreed to anything with the Braves." Furcal also revealed Oakland's approach: an initial four-year, $32MM offer, followed by a four-year $35MM offer of the "take it or leave it" variety.   Continue Reading

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Murray Chass: Furcal, Sabathia, Lowe, Teixeira

Murray Chass has a nice Sunday post covering some of the biggest names in the game. Let's take a look: Chass summarizes the Rafael Furcal fiasco nicely, and explains the potential legal hazards that refusing to work with the Wasserman group could lead to. Brian Cashman has said that his refusal to trade for Johan Santana last year was because the Yankees knew C.C. Sabathia was going to be a free agent this year. Chass looks at their numbers side-by-side and points explains how by not trading for Santana, the Yankees risked missing out on both aces. The Mets are...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Redding, Turnbow, Looper

Links for Saturday... RotoAuthority looks at projections for Chris Davis. 35 home runs next year? Bill Madden suggests Paul Kinzer screwed up in both the Rafael Furcal and Francisco Rodriguez negotiations. More details on Dan Johnson - the Rays are selling him to a Japanese team for $100,000-500,000. Tim Redding's agent says "the Mets are very much in the mix" for the righty. Juan C. Rodriguez confirms the Marlins' interest in Derrick Turnbow, but says they aren't going after Ray King. The Rockies could pursue Braden Looper. The Orioles have expressed interest in Phillies catcher Chris Coste. New National Josh...   Continue Reading

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Furcal Signs With Dodgers

FRIDAY, 8:37pm: The Furcal deal is official. Jesse Spector has quotes from the conference call. WEDNESDAY, 9:08pm: Just to keep this baby going, we have the contract numbers from Tony Jackson. A backloaded three years, $30MM, $3MM of which is a bonus at the end of the contract. The 2012 option for $13MM does vest with 600 PAs in '11. 8:23pm: The deal may be done, but we still can't get the numbers nailed down. According to Tim Brown's writethru, it could be either $33MM or $30MM. Brown has "a Dodgers source" who says it's the latter "and includes a...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: Crosby, Kawakami, Wolf

3:44pm: MLB.com's Jim Street says Crosby cleared waivers. 9:00am: The word from Ken Rosenthal... The A's placed shortstop Bobby Crosby on outright waivers in the hope that some team will assume his $5.75MM salary for '09. After his lousy '08, he may go unclaimed. The Braves were focused on Rafael Furcal; they're not looking to add a different infielder as a backup plan. They still want another starting pitcher. Dave O'Brien names some possible targets. Rosenthal says some teams fear Kenshin Kawakami might want to match Hiroki Kuroda's three-year, $35.3MM deal. The Mariners would like to add a left-handed hitter...   Continue Reading

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Braves Won't Be Dealing With Kinzer, Tellem

8:17pm: Tim Brown reacts to Tellem's statement and breaks down the drama. Brown heard from one American League GM who would be "furious" if something similar happened to him. 7:51pm: Tony Jackson received a statement, apparently from agent Arn Tellem, about the events of the past couple days. It suggests there was "never an agreement reached" between Furcal and the Braves. The statement says Furcal's agents "will continue to present opportunities to the Braves" when it's in a client's best interest. It concludes by asking that the event not color the Braves' "better judgment" once "emotions have subsided." 4:17pm: Braves...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: Teixeira, Markakis, Johnson

We have a new column from Ken Rosenthal this evening. Mark Teixeira is holding up many areas of the free agent market, as guys like Brian Fuentes and Milton Bradley know the Angels will be interested if Tex signs elsewhere. Rosenthal believes the Yankees should continue to be aggressive and make a competitive bid for Teixeira. The "poor working conditions and occasionally unruly crowd behavior" make it hard for the A's to attract free agents. Their move in 2012 should help. Rosenthal believes Chase Utley's seven year, $85MM deal could provide a framework for a Nick Markakis extension. The A's...   Continue Reading

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Orlando Cabrera A Long Shot For A's

According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's only have interest in free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera if he can be had as a late bargain. Despite the twists and turns it seems safe to say the A's are no longer in the mix for Rafael Furcal. The problems with Cabrera are the loss of a second-round pick and his probable $10MM+ salary demands. Slusser sees a legitimate chance the A's stick with Bobby Crosby at shortstop for 2009. Cabrera is said to be the Dodgers' Plan B, though he carries an even steeper price for them....   Continue Reading

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No Trade Market For Jack Wilson

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates might not be able to trade shortstop Jack Wilson this offseason. Even if the Dodgers miss out on Rafael Furcal, their Plan B is Orlando Cabrera. The A's, Royals, and Blue Jays have not expressed interest in Wilson. Kovacevic says the Blue Jays are definitely not interested. You may recall that J.P. Ricciardi went out of his way to deny interest in Wilson in July of last year.   Continue Reading

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