By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
By Steve Adams | at
Murray Chass has a nice Sunday post covering some of the biggest names in the game. Let’s take a look:
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
Links for Saturday…
By Tim Dierkes | at
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 fourth-year option for $12 million, vesting with 600 plate appearances in the third year. Other incentives could bring the total worth of the deal to about $45 million." The AP report (below) that gave the $33MM figure had quoted " a person familiar with the negotiations."
7:43pm: This MLB.com report from Ken Gurnick says "it is believed the deal is pending the passing of a physical exam." That’s probably about as final as we’re going to get for now. It’s worth noting that a little bit earlier, Tony Jackson talked to Kinzer, who said such a statement would be premature. (The Dodgers, like most teams, don’t confirm deals until after the physical.)
7:08pm: The AP says the final numbers on the contract are 3 years, $33MM:
Furcal gets $7.5 million next season, $9.5 million in 2010 and $13 million in 2011. The deal includes a $13 million team option for 2012 with a $3 million buyout.
7:02pm: This wire report from CBSSports.com has a quote from Kinzer:
"They know we didn’t have a signed contract, that we didn’t have even a verbal agreement. We had, ’Things look very good and Raffy’s going to sleep on it,’" Kinzer said after a news conference for another client, Francisco Rodriguez.
5:53pm: Rosenthal has updated his post with a bit more info and a timeline from Wren. Around midnight on Monday, after much negotiating, Kinzer told Wren, "we’re good." Tuesday morning, says Rosenthal (note the slight discrepancy from Brown’s report below), Wren "got a voicemail from Kinzer" asking for the term sheet to be put together and faxed to him, which Wren did. "Shortly thereafter, Kinzer began ’backpedaling,’ saying he promised the Dodgers he would talk to them." And on Tuesday, the Dodgers "suddenly" appeared willing to grant Furcal a third year — and today, the Braves were told that Furcal would not be joining them.
5:43pm: Tim Brown reports that the Braves had sent Furcal a signed term sheet, according to "a club source." Monday night, Kinzer asked for the paperwork to be faxed to him. Braves GM Frank Wren complied Tuesday morning. Writes Brown:
No member of the Braves’ front office – not Wren, not longtime former GM John Schuerholz – could recall a time when a signed term sheet was not the equivalent of a handshake agreement, ethically – if not legally – binding.
Brown adds that the Braves believe Kinzer shopped the term sheet to the Dodgers, who had been reluctant to commit to a third year.
4:47pm: The latest from Rosenthal:
The Dodgers and Furcal were still hammering out an agreement Wednesday afternoon, sources said, but the Braves had been informed that Furcal would not accept their deal.
4:10pm: Ken Rosenthal says Furcal decided to sign with the Dodgers.
Mark Bowman’s latest doesn’t suggest Furcal made a decision, but he does explain why the Braves thought they had a deal. Bowman’s source believes the Dodgers offered three years plus a fourth-year player option.
11:48am: Yahoo’s Tim Brown: Furcal is "nearing an agreement with the Dodgers." Joel Sherman learned from Kinzer that the Dodgers are in the lead, having matched the Braves’ three-year, $30MM (plus a fourth-year vesting option) offer. Paul Kinzer told Sherman the idea of switching to second base for the Braves gave Furcal pause.
Kinzer told Danny Knobler there was never a verbal agreement with the Braves. Kinzer lives in Atlanta and received 50 phone calls from fans after the story broke yesterday.
9:39am: Yesterday we watched as Rafael Furcal and his agents seemingly ignored a gentleman’s agreement with the Braves to continue negotiating with the Dodgers. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times learned from Ned Colletti that the Dodgers improved their offer to Furcal (the original was two years with a vesting option).
According to Buster Olney, the Braves offered three years, $30MM with a vesting option for the fourth year. Olney says the A’s were at $38MM guaranteed over four years.
Sarah Green also contributed to this post.
By Tim Dierkes | at
3:44pm: MLB.com’s Jim Street says Crosby cleared waivers.
9:00am: The word from Ken Rosenthal…
By Tim Dierkes | at
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 president John Schuerholz comments on the situation.
3:02pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to Wren, who said he’s notified the Wasserman Media Group the Braves will no longer be doing business with them. It’s a bold move, as the agency has a robust client list.
9:27am: Based on Frank Wren’s comments, the Braves won’t be dealing with agents Paul Kinzer and Arn Tellem anytime soon due to the recent Rafael Furcal drama. Dylan Hernandez transcribes:
When WIFN talk show host Bill Shanks prefaced a question by saying that he knew Wren couldn’t burn bridges with Kinzer and Tellem, Wren interjected, "That bridge is gone. I don’t have to worry about burning it. The bridge is gone."
Most remaining clients represented by these agents don’t fit for the Braves this offseason anyway. But Tellem does represent Randy Wolf. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a source saying it’d be "next to impossible" for the Braves to pursue Wolf now. You can find the full client list for Tellem’s Wasserman Media Group here (click Management, then Baseball). Current Brave Peter Moylan is also represented by the firm.
By Tim Dierkes | at
We have a new column from Ken Rosenthal this evening.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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. The Dodgers have the #17 selection in the 2009 amateur draft, the first unprotected pick. The White Sox would be thrilled to get it, and Cabrera’s Elias number is higher than that of any other Type A free agent who was offered arb the Dodgers could plausibly sign. So if the Dodgers sign Cabrera and, say, Oliver Perez, the White Sox still get the #17 pick.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
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