Rafael Furcal could be headed back to Atlanta
DODGERS
Dodgers will be given a final chance to re-sign the shortstop, who is near an agreement with the Braves.
Rafael Furcal could be back with the Atlanta Braves by the end of the day, according to his agent, Paul Kinzer.
"It's not done, but if he chose right now it would be Atlanta," Kinzer said.
Kinzer acknowledged that he told the Braves something similar on Monday night.
"We haven't signed anything yet," he said. "We haven't had an agreement yet."
Kinzer said he plans to call the Dodgers today to offer them a final chance to re-sign Furcal, who completed a three-year, $39-million contract with them this year.
The Dodgers have offered the shortstop a two-year contract with a vesting option for a third year, according to sources with knowledge of the situation who required anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations. The Braves' offer is guaranteed for three years and includes a vesting option for a fourth.
The Dodgers and the Braves are the only teams Furcal is considering, Kinzer said.
Kinzer said that Furcal would probably make a decision by end of the day.
Furcal broke into the major leagues with the Braves in 2000. He played in Atlanta through the 2005 season.
Furcal, 31, hit .293 in three seasons as the Dodgers' lead-off hitter. His best season with the Dodgers was in 2006, when he hit .300 with 15 home runs and 63 runs batted in.
Injuries slowed him down over the next two years. Hobbled by a sprained ankle for the entire 2007 season, he hit .270 with six home runs.
Furcal was hitting .366 this season when he suffered a herniated disc in his back that required surgery and forced him to miss four months. Though he played in the final week of the regular season and the playoffs, uncertainties about his back made the Dodgers reluctant to guarantee him more than two years.
The Dodgers are planning to pursue free agent Orlando Cabrera if they fail to re-sign Furcal. Cabrera, 34, hit .281 with eight home runs and 57 runs batted in this year with the Chicago White Sox.
Cabrera's agent, Dan Lozano, said that the Dodgers have expressed interest in his client.
dylan.hernandez@latimes.com
