Somebody explain the appeal of Rafael Furcal

[mcgoobs]

I've seen his name thrown around with some people saying the Cubs should make a run at him. Based on his numbers, I can't see why. He's a 31 year old with a 96 career OPS+ who's asking for more than $10 MM per year. Unless I'm missing something on his defense, I can't see why we wouldn't keep Theriot at 1/20th of the cost.

[Sammy Sofa]

At the very least, Furcal has some power. Theriot has anti-power.

[cubswin2009]

He was having an MVP type year before he got hurt last year.

[Guest]

At the very least, Furcal has some power. Theriot has anti-power.

 

Holy crap, that's an awesome avatar.

[Sammy Sofa]

At the very least, Furcal has some power. Theriot has anti-power.

 

Holy crap, that's an awesome avatar.

 

The pride of the Cubs' nation.

[Abe Frohman]

Big upgrade in defense at SS.

 

Leadoff man that is a proven base-stealer (which can be handy).

 

Adds good speed to the lineup.

 

Can drink you off the table.

[CubColtPacer]

Furcal's upgrade purely over Theriot isn't worth nearly 10 million dollars. But Furcal could be a quite valuable signing if the Cubs made all the other moves correctly (and of course this is hypothetical, because I can't see the Cubs benching Theriot to this degree).

 

If you sign Furcal, you then trade Cedeno for a PTBNL or whatever you can get. You move Theriot to 2nd in a platoon with Fontenot, and DeRosa becomes your full-time RF. You then go out and sign a right-handed bench player. It would be preferable if this bench player could backup either 3B or 2B, but it isn't necessary. The main goal is to find a backup that can mash left-handers.

 

Is this better than just signing a RF? Here are the pros of signing Furcal instead:

 

Better defense at SS, and also possibly at RF depending on who the Cubs sign there.

The bats should be close. It's basically Bradley+Theriot or Fotenot-Theriot/Furcal. Furcal is a little better than Theriot with the bat, and Bradley should be expected to be a pretty good upgrade over a Fontenot/Theriot platoon. Bradley wins here, although it's closer than it looks.

 

The main thing Furcal would give is flexibility. As I said, now you can sign a backup to mash against left-handers instead of having to waste Cedeno on the bench. The Cubs have a clear backup plan already on their roster if any player on the diamond gets hurt. There wouldn't have to be any scrambling to bring up a player from AAA to start. Every position would have a capable backup.

 

So Furcal makes multiple positions better by putting people in roles that are better for them. It uses Fontenot and Theriot's skills while hiding their weaknesses. It takes a hole for the Cubs late in games (no right-handed threat off the bench) away. Every single position player would be in a position to succeed other than the backup catcher, and the team could easily adapt to fit any situation that the long season throws at them.

 

Furcal's not really a 10 million dollar SS. But the way the Cubs have assembled their team, his acquisition make all the pieces of the offense fit together a lot better, and that definitely could be worth that money.

[CubbieBum]

He's a high 200 hitter with decent power for his position, a good leadoff man who can steal 40 bases and he plays above average defense. Add in he plays a position that has probably the least amount of good players and you get a guy who can command 10 million a year. I wouldn't mind the Cubs getting him but don't fell like we need to. I would be fine with us not.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

If we get him we get a good player.

 

The money is the teams issue. I'm down with offering him a 2-3 year contract if he's full healthy.

He's a guy I think can/will put up at least .285/.350/.445 out of him at SS.

 

Hed be yet another "solid" bat in the lineup, and he's an above average leadoff hitter.

[UK1679666180]

I've seen his name thrown around with some people saying the Cubs should make a run at him. Based on his numbers, I can't see why. He's a 31 year old with a 96 career OPS+ who's asking for more than $10 MM per year. Unless I'm missing something on his defense, I can't see why we wouldn't keep Theriot at 1/20th of the cost.

 

Keeping Theriot is the better option. If they needed a SS, I could see why they would go after him, although I think trading for Greene or Bartlett would be a better option than overspending on Furcal.

[17 Seconds]

If we get him we get a good player.

 

The money is the teams issue.

 

That's pretty bad logic. I hate when people say "who cares about giving him a big contract, it's not our money!" We want the team to win. The team has a certain amount of money they can spend to do that. Every time they spend money that's less they can spend on other players.

 

p.s. leadoff hitter still isn't a position

[third eye]

If we get him we get a good player.

 

The money is the teams issue.

 

That's pretty bad logic. I hate when people say "who cares about giving him a big contract, it's not our money!" We want the team to win. The team has a certain amount of money they can spend to do that. Every time they spend money that's less they can spend on other players.

 

p.s. leadoff hitter still isn't a position

 

Yep, who cares how much of a contract we gave Marquis in 2007? Not our money, and he did give slightly above league average performance for a starter and plenty of innings. It's not like his contract has stopped us from pursuing other options in the years since then.

[Jehrico]

How many SSs can provide plus defense and be a good bet to OPS+ 100 or higher?

 

Oh yeah, don't forget he also plays "leadoff."

[B]

he can handle the heat of all the day games at Wrigley without wearing down like white players.

[Vanilla Ice]

those beautiful eyes

[imb]

I really expected this board to be better than this. I come to this thread expecting to find people saying "no thanks" to the idea of Rafael Furcal as our shortstop in 2009, but instead I'm greeted by a hundred posters all saying that he should be our No. 1 offseason target.

 

Excuse me? Rafael Furcal? Yeah, that 164 OPS+ last year looks great. Let me know when he does that over the course of a full season. His career OPS+ is 96. Why don't we give Jack WIlson a call, he had a great part of a season once, too. Anyone think they could lull Shawon Dunston out of retirement?

 

I feel like I'm Ian Malcolm and you guys are all Donald Gennaro.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The rules changed this year. The more people have heard of your players, the more wins you get. That's why we had to trade for Jake Peavy no matter the cost, and that's why Furcal would be worth so much. Big names = big wins.

[17 Seconds]

The rules changed this year. The more people have heard of your players, the more wins you get. That's why we had to trade for Jake Peavy no matter the cost, and that's why Furcal would be worth so much. Big names = big wins.

 

Most people here agreed with Hendry for not giving up what the Padres were asking for.