http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5137486 The Dodgers, making their first major move under new general manager Ned Colletti, have signed free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal to a three-year contract worth nearly $40 million, FOXSports.com has confirmed. The deal, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, will enable the Dodgers to move shortstop Cesar Izturis to second base when he returns from elbow-ligament transplant surgery in July. Second baseman Jeff Kent likely will move to first. The Dodgers outbid both the Cubs and Braves for Furcal. Both those clubs are now expected to pursue Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo in a trade. The Braves, who lost their closer, Kyle Farnsworth, to the Yankees earlier this week, also will seek to add bullpen help. Furcal, 28, will be the game's second-highest paid shortstop, behind only the Yankees' Derek Jeter. He will be a free agent again at 31.
the dodgers are crazy...13 mil.???? don't get me wrong he is very good, but 13 mil. better get me somebody GREAT.
good news if you ask me. i was hoping the cubs wouldn't be able to get him. they're pursuing juan pierre as well....hope that doesn't work out for them, either.
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060109&content_id=1293221&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb LOS ANGELES -- Rafael Furcal, signed to a $39 million contract a month ago to be the Dodgers' new shortstop and leadoff hitter, will undergo arthroscopic right knee surgery Wednesday. Furcal, 28, will have a slight tear in the medial cartilage near the back of the knee repaired at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Center. It is the first known knee surgery for Furcal, who is coming off a career-high 46 stolen bases in 2005 and was acquired primarily to put his running speed and scoring ability atop the batting order. General manager Ned Colletti said this is a "cleanup" procedure and "by Spring Training he will be ready for full activity." Colletti said the condition was revealed in a physical examination taken before Furcal's contract was finalized, but he was "asymptomatic" at the time. The knee was drained several times last season and it flared up during increased recent workouts. "We decided to do it early rather than late," said Colletti. "He probably could have gotten through the season with it." Revelation of Furcal's surgery comes after the Dodgers recently announced that second baseman Jeff Kent, Furcal's new double-play partner, would undergo surgery Tuesday on his right wrist to remove scar tissue. Kent is expected to be healed by the second week of March, missing the first two weeks of Spring Training. One of the attractions of Furcal to the Dodgers has been his durability. He played in 154 games in 2005 and has played in at least 143 games each of the past four years. He was limited to 79 games in 2001 when he dislocated his left shoulder trying to steal a base.
