December 22, 2008 According to the AP Rafael Furcal denies ever agreeing to a deal with the Atlanta Braves, as the Braves previously had stated. “That is not true,” Furcal said. “We never, not my agents nor me, agreed to anything with the Braves.” The Braves later stated that they would no longer negotiate with the agency that represents Furcal.
Our View:Furcal is coming off of back surgery and played in just 36 regular season games last season. This may be a blessing in disguise for the Braves. Furcal re-signed with the Dodgers.
December 19, 2008 The Rafael Furcal signing with the Dodgers is official, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Our View:Furcal will give the Dodgers a consistent lead-off hitter if he can stay healthy, which was a problem last year when he only appeared in 36 games due to back problems.
December 19, 2008 Braves president John Schuerholz has called the actions by Rafael Furcal's agents despicable for how they dealt with his club before going back to the Dodgers for further negotiations, according to the Associated Press. Schuerholz has also said that he won't deal with clients of these agents in the future due to how this situation unraveled.
Our View:Most of the clients of Furcal's agents, Paul Kinzer and Arn Tellem, don't make sense for the Braves this offseason anyways. However, they could have been interested in Randy Wolf as the Braves still have rotation spots to fill
December 19, 2008 Rafael Furcal never agreed to a deal with the Braves as was speculated, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Our View:The Braves wanted to employ Furcal at second base, but Furcal wanted to remain a shortstop, which is one of the main reasons he opted to return to the Dodgers.
December 18, 2008 SI.com reports that Braves GM Frank Wren has notified Arn Tellem and Wasserman Media Group that they will no longer negotiate with them following the Rafael Furcal debacle.
Our View:The agency is one of the biggest and most powerful in baseball so it will be interesting to see how long this stands. The Braves apparently had a deal in place that would bring them the free-agent shortstop, but the deal slipped out from under them at the last minute.
