Cardinals, Dodgers close in on Furcal deal
The Cardinals are moving closer toward obtaining the shortstop they're seeking:
Talks with the Dodgers for Rafael Furcal have advanced to the point where the
clubs are "close" to seeking approval from Furcal to waive his no-trade clause
, according to CBSSports.com sources.
It is believed that Furcal will agree to the trade in short order.
In the midst of rearranging things on the fly while trying to fend off the
Brewers, Pirates and Reds in the NL Central, the Cardinals shipped center
fielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto the other day for pitching help, and now are
close to filling a huge hole at shortstop.
They've been going with Ryan Theriot and Daniel Descalso. But they moved him
to second base on Saturday against the Cubs for his first start there.
Furcal in the past has been a dynamic shortstop and top-of-the-order player,
but he has battled injuries all season. An oblique strain struck him early in
the year and, consequently, Furcal is hitting a career-low .197 with a .272
on-base percentage and a .248 slugging percentage. A switch-hitter whose game
normally is getting on base and running, Furcal has been limited to 15 runs
in just 37 games in 2011.
However, he's feeling better now than he has all season, and he's getting
healthy at the right time. Over the past two weeks, Furcal has batted .270
with a .400 on-base percentage in 11 games, and over the past seven days,
he's hit .333 with a .455 on-base percentage in five games.
Approximately $4 million remains from Furcal's $12 million salary through the
rest of this season. His contract also includes a $12 million option for 2012.
Because Furcal, 33, would waive no-trade rights as a 10-5 player