The St. Louis Cardinals have found their shortstop, as the club has reportedly reached a two-year agreement with Rafael Furcal. Furcal joined the Cardinals last summer, and St. Louis thought enough of the 34-year-old to bring him back as their starting shortstop for 2012. Furcal’s two-year deal is reportedly worth $14 million.
After spending the past several years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Furcal was traded to the Cardinals this July 31st deadline for minor leaguer Alex Castellanos.
Though he only mustered an OPS of .520 over his 37 games in LA last year, Furcal hit at a clip of .255/.316/.418 after joining the Cardinals. Combined between the two clubs, Furcal finished the 2011 season hitting .231/.298/.348 with eight home runs, 15 doubles and 44 runs scored over his 87 games played.
Furcal’s issue over the past several years has been staying on the field. Since 2008, Furcal has only played in more than 97 games once.
The Furcal signing eliminates yet another contender from the Jimmy Rollins sweepstakes. St. Louis said they had interest in Rollins but weren’t willing to give the veteran the five-year deal he was requesting. Negotiating power seems to have swung solely back to the Phillies so it will be interesting to see what type of deal Rollins ends up with.
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You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.