Colletti said the Dodgers improved their offer to a guaranteed three years "early Monday, if not Sunday." Kinzer said on Tuesday that Furcal would probably sign with Atlanta.
The Dodgers initially offered Furcal a deal that was guaranteed for only two years and were reluctant to sign him for a longer deal because of his back, which required surgery in the middle of the season and sidelined him for 4 1/2 months. Colletti said that a conversation with Dr. Robert Watkins, who performed the operation and oversaw Furcal's rehabilitation, convinced him that his back shouldn't be a problem if he continued his core-strengthening exercises.
