MLB Weekly: Free Agents Bobby Abreu & Rafael Furcal

Bobby Abreu: There hasn't been much news on Yankees free agent OF Bobby Abreu, but there seems to be some interest from the Mets and Cubs. I know Abreu wants to stay in NY and is probably waiting to see if the Yankees are still interested in him. He is probably one of several players who have to wait to see who lands C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and possibly Manny Ramirez before anyone offers him a contract. Abreu is considered to be in decline offensively, but he has been pretty consistent since joining the Yankees with a line of .291 AVG/.388 OBP/.459 SLG/.847 OPS the last 3 seasons. Abreu is also one of only three players to have higher than a .290 average, .840 OPS, 300 RBI, and 50 SB. The other two? Alex Rodriguez and David Wright. So Abreu is certainly still a solid offensive player. The only drawback to signing Abreu is that his defense in RF is among the worst in the majors.

Rafael Furcal: Furcal is probably the shortstop who is most in demand of any of the available shortstops out there. There are a number of teams who are interested in bringing in Furcal, including the Orioles, Braves, Giants, Cubs, Dodgers and A's. I think Furcal would be an excellent pickup for a contending team and it will be interesting to see where he lands. He's one of those players who can make a huge difference in a teams offense at the top of the lineup with his hitting and base running skills. Furcal is looking for a 4 year deal, but so far the offers he has received have only been for 3 years. The Orioles might be targeting Cesar Izturis at SS instead of Furcal, because he is solid defensively and would be much cheaper.

Other MLB News:

- Bad news for the World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies, who might be without Chase Utley next season up until June because of a hip surgery.

- More injury news as the LA Dodgers will have to worry about Chad Billingsley's health after he neede surgey after slipping and breaking his leg. The Dodgers say Billingsley should be ready to throw by spring trainging, but I'm sure they will be watching him closely to see there are any lingering effects from the injury. There is also some belief that the Dodgers are just saying that, because they are still interested in trying to trade for Padres starter Jake Peavy.

- The Chicago White Sox are looking to make some more moves after trading away Nick Swisher. They are looking into a number of possible trades that could include Jermaine Dye, Bobby Jenks, or Javier Vasquez.

- The San Francisco Giants signed left handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt to a two year, $8 million contract. Affeldt finished the season with a 3.33 ERA and 80 K's in 78.1 innings out of the bullpen. The Giants are also interested in SS Rafael Furcal, 2B Orlando Hudson, and of course C.C. Sabathia.

- The Cubs re-signed pitcher Ryan Dempster to a 4 year, $52 million contract. Dempster is coming off of a career year where he went 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA and 187 K's in 206.2 innings of work. It's always risky to sign veteran players who have had career years after not having much of the same success throughout their career. It's possible Dempster will be a solid pitcher for the Cubs for the rest of his contract, but I would be surprised if he comes anywhere near the great numbers he put up this season.

- The Red Sox have traded CF Coco Crisp to the Royals for relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez. Crisp will most likely be the Royals starting CF. Ramirez is pretty much an unknown pitcher, but he did have a 2.64 ERA with 70 K's in 71.2 innings.

- The Cardinals signed left handed reliever Trever Miller. Miller had a 4.14 ERA with 44 K's in 43.1 innings for the Tampa Bay Rays this season.

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