Furcal in Play

Rafael Furcal initially scoffed at suggestions he might get traded, saying “nobody wants a .170 hitter.” But the Dodgers shortstop has picked up his game over the past 10 days and scouts are noticing, as his name is finally surfacing in trade talks. The contender with the greatest shortstop need is San Francisco, although Dodgers-Giants dealings over the past few decades have been limited to Mark Sweeney. Furcal will be a free agent and he has 10-and-five veto rights. He’s also owed more than $3 million and other teams want the Dodgers to pick up a good piece of it.
For all of those reasons, a Jamey Carroll deal would be a simpler transaction. He has drawn interest from Milwaukee, Cleveland and Arizona. The Dodgers are willing to trade either, but not likely both. — Ken Gurnick