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Furcal Close To Deciding Between Braves, Dodgers

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11:40pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says a Braves person said Furcal had a "gentleman’s agreement" with the team.  Talks continued with the Dodgers nonetheless.

7:00pm: Matthew Leach is reporting that the Royals are no longer pursuing Furcal. Leach says the Royals were unable to fit Furcal’s demands into the payroll. Dayton Moore added that if the Royals are to add a player at this point, the team "would have to subtract [someone] because of where [the Royals] are financially." We previously heard that the Royals were one of four teams Furcal was considering offers from.

4:43pm: Tim Brown explains that while some Braves people believed they had a deal with Furcal, Kinzer and Arn Tellem are still talking to the Dodgers.  The Braves probably aren’t terribly amused with the agents.

3:13pm: Ned Colletti says he’s still talking to Kinzer about Furcal, while Yahoo’s Tim Brown talks about the Dodgers and A’s shifting their focus to Orlando Cabrera.

1:00pm: Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer says there’s no agreement yet.  He says that if Furcal chose right now, it’d be Atlanta.  Jerry Crasnick says it’d be a three-year, $30MM deal with a fourth-year vesting option.  However, Kinzer will call the Dodgers today to give them a final chance to sign Furcal.  Furcal will probably accept an offer today, and it’ll be the Braves or Dodgers. 

10:51am: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves have no intention of trading Johnson or Escobar – they are moving Johnson back to left field.  Bowman believes Furcal will play second base.

9:42am: Crasnick now says the Braves have a preliminary agreement with Furcal.  Dave O’Brien thinks the signing points to an Escobar trade.

8:35am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a source saying no agreement has been reached, but the Braves are confident and interest is mutual.

7:50am: According to Ken Rosenthal, shortstop Rafael Furcal has reached an agreement with the Braves.  He came up with Atlanta, of course.  Furcal just needs to pass a physical.  Rosenthal believes the Braves offered three years with a fourth-year vesting option, and Furcal chose that over Oakland’s guaranteed four years.

Now we’re left to wonder what happens with Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson.  Dave O’Brien notes that the Braves have inquired on young starters such as Zack Greinke and Paul Maholm.  Danny Knobler says the Braves will likely put Furcal at second base and Johnson in left field.

Rafael Furcal Rumors: Monday

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10:42pm: The fourth team is the Braves, according to Ken Rosenthal.  Kinzer told Rosenthal the Braves are "in deep" and Furcal is seriously considering their offer.  Rosenthal believes it’s a three-year offer with a vesting option.  Rosenthal spoke to an exec who felt the same as Joel Sherman, that Furcal does not want to sign with the A’s.

Adding Furcal would give the Braves a middle infield surplus.  Good shortstops are hard to find and the Braves would have two.

4:40pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown talked to Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer, who said his client will sign by Tuesday.  He’s mulling offers from the Dodgers, Royals, A’s, and…a mystery team.

1:32pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Blue Jays have dropped out of the bidding for Furcal (now confirmed by Furcal’s agent).  Sherman adds that Furcal prefers the A’s the least but they are offering the most money.

1:10pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney says the A’s offered four years and $40MM, up about $4MM from their previous offer.

8:10am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the A’s appear to be the frontrunners for free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal.  Joel Sherman said the same on Friday.  Rosenthal says the A’s have upped their initial four-year offer to Furcal, and it appears to be the only four-year proposal on the table.  Yahoo’s Jeff Passan suggested on Wednesday that the Royals believe it will take four years and $44MM to sign him.  The A’s were reportedly in the $35-40MM range previously.

The Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Royals were identified as other finalists last week by Furcal’s agent.  Those teams all have issues coming up with the money or years Furcal desires.  Rosenthal suggests Orlando Cabrera, Angel Berroa, and Jack Wilson as possible alternatives for the Dodgers.

Sherman’s Latest: Lowe, Saito, Teixeira

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The latest from Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

  • Mets GM Omar Minaya recently admitted he did not expect to pursue A.J. Burnett or Derek Lowe, saying, "I’m probably not going to be in there right now, financially.  Not after spending all the money that I did on K-Rod."  Sherman isn’t sold, though – he thinks Lowe’s price could drop and give the Mets a shot.
  • The Dodgers haven’t received a counter-offer to their two-year, $45MM proposal, so they won’t be making another bid.  Sherman adds that they are planning to non-tender Takashi Saito.
  • The A’s remain the frontrunners for Rafael Furcal.
  • Sherman says the Nationals have bid seven years and $140MM for Mark Teixeira.  That offer was reported on Wednesday to be eight years, $160MM.  Sherman says the backup plans are Adam Dunn and Orlando Hudson.  I believe the Hudson link is new.
  • The Mariners had tried to pry Jonathan Niese from the Mets for J.J. Putz.  Sherman also notes strong interest in Aaron Heilman.  He says the Mets and Cubs did not discuss Jason Marquis, contrary to reports.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Thursday

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10:56pm: Axelrod suggestion the Giants as a possible destination for Peavy in a talk with Tim Sullivan.  He said, "I think they’ve got the money. But I don’t know if they’ve got the prospects."

8:20pm: Jon Heyman says that Peavy is frustrated by the team’s inability to trade him. His agent, Barry Axelrod, says that Peavy had begun to get used to the idea of being a Cub, and now that opportunity is apparently gone. Axelrod says if the Padres approach he and his client with a trade, they’ll consider it, but there won’t be any more lists of approved teams.

Axelrod also criticizes the majority of baseball executives for their lack of action at the Winter Meetings.

"It’s amazing to me how many people can waste time, money and resources, and get nothing done," Axelrod said. "Baseball moved lock, stock and barrel into that town, and absolutely nothing happened."

6:45: Mike DiGiovanna at the LA Times says that the Angels are now in the mix for Peavy. Trade talks could begin as soon as next week, with Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar, Reggie Willits, Nick Adenhart, and Kevin Jepsen all names that could be talked about. The Angels will only pursue Peavy if they can’t re-sign Mark Teixeira.

5:02pm: Talked to a person familiar with the Cubs’ thinking…he really could not see the Cubs revisiting a Peavy trade.  The Padres need to get Peavy’s $63MM off the books soon, yet were trying to swing 6-for-1 or 7-for-1 deals for him despite the extremely limited market.  Marshall was never in the mix, by the way.

3:27pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves "won’t even think about renewing their pursuit of Peavy unless the talks are initiated by the Padres, who will no longer find a compensation package that includes Yunel Escobar."  Escobar is apparently off the table because the Braves no longer have Brent Lillibridge.

2:56pm: Tim Brown and Gordon Edes say the Cubs "remain optimistic that they can acquire Peavy, all but ignored Towers’ self-imposed deadline."  Meanwhile, Gerry Fraley says the Angels have already put together a package for the Padres to consider.

12:01pm: Kevin Towers told reporters the proposed Peavy deal with the Cubs is dead.  The Cubs pulled out.  Mike DiGiovanna heard earlier that the Angels remain interested.  Towers is not certain he wants to engage in further Peavy discussions at this time.  I think even hot stove junkies wouldn’t mind a respite.

11:30am: Towers still hasn’t heard back from Hendry on the Peavy deal.  Ken Rosenthal says eight to ten teams have called on DeRosa, adding the A’s to the mix of known suitors.

12:33am: Multiple reports suggested yesterday that the Cubs would not trade Mark DeRosa.  But new stories in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times do not support that notion.

Paul Sullivan of the Trib says DeRosa "appears to be the key to any Peavy deal."  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times heard the Cubs would only trade DeRosa as part of a Peavy deal, and Jim Hendry inquired on Chone Figgins as a possible replacement.  And La Velle E. Neal III believes DeRosa is fair game in a Peavy deal or separately for the Twins or Phillies.  As far as Jason Marquis, both Chicago writers see him landing in San Diego with the Cubs eating about half his salary (one sign that the Cubs have "hand," as George Costanza would say).

Padres GM Kevin Towers wants to get a framework in place today.  The Cubs have the leverage, with Wittenmyer suggesting they also want to keep Sean Marshall.  One player most writers believe will be sent from the Cubs to the Padres is Josh Vitters.  But Towers says it’s in the Cubs’ hands.

Rafael Furcal Rumors: Thursday

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9:03am: Following yesterday’s implication from Kinzer that all offers for Furcal are for at least three years, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times explains that the Dodgers offered two years plus a vesting option based on playing time.  Though Ned Colletti said Furcal could exceed salary expectations if he hits incentives, Kinzer says the offer still falls short.

1:57am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talked to Rafael Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer, who expects his client to make a decision by the middle or end of next week.  You know the suitors – the Dodgers, A’s, Royals, and Blue Jays.  Yahoo’s Jeff Passan wrote yesterday that the Royals believe it will take a four-year, $44MM deal to sign Furcal.

Rafael Furcal Rumors: Wednesday

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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.

Padres Have Interest In Vizquel; Dodgers Don’t

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7:39pm: Ned Colletti told Diamond Leung the Dodgers aren’t looking at Vizquel.

5:55pm: Andrew Baggarly says the Padres also have interest in Vizquel.  He adds that the A’s are looking at free agent pitcher Kevin Correia for a minor league deal.

4:52pm: Tony Jackson says the Dodgers might have interest in free agent shortstop Omar Vizquel if they can’t sign Rafael Furcal.

Randy Johnson Rumors

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WEDNESDAY, 1:11pm: Nolan Ryan confirmed the Rangers’ interest in Johnson.

TUESDAY, 8:37pm: Jack Magruder says the Astros and Angels met with Johnson’s reps at the Meetings.  He adds that the Rangers, Brewers, and Cubs touched base before the Meetings.

2:54pm: Four California teams are said to be eyeing Randy Johnson: the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, and A’s.  Mike DiGiovanna learned that the Dodgers and Angels are more on the fringes.  We’ve also seen Johnson linked to the Cubs as a fallback for Jake Peavy.

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