Braves Report

It was reported this morning on FOXSports.com that free agent Rafael Furcal could be returning to Atlanta, with a contract expected to be signed today. Furcal supposedly had turned down a deal from Oakland, for $40 million over a 4 years period:

One rival executive said Monday night, “he will do whatever he can not to go to Oakland,” citing Furcal’s preference to be with one of his prior teams.

This deal is likely to be worth $30 million over 3 years. If the deal goes through, Furcal would probably be placed at either shortstop or second base, providing some speed that this team otherwise lacks.

Personally, I’d love to see him back here. He can run well, he’s got a cannon of an arm, and he can hit. As long as he doesn’t try to drive every pitch over the fence, like he did in his later tenure with the Braves in ’05, he should be a good fit that will provide some confidence in this lineup. What remains to be seen is who will be displaced with this trade: Escobar or Johnson.

More on this as it develops.

Update #1: The deal went through with the terms listed above, pending a physical that might not occur today. In addition, there is an option for the 2012 season.

Update #2: Apparently the deal hasn’t officially gone through yet. They’ve reached a ‘tentative’ deal, but Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer, may be waiting to see if the Dodgers can come up with a better offer.

Update #3: Furcal signed with the Dodgers. I’ll have my thoughts on this up later.

One of the few bright spots for the Braves this season has been the play of Chipper Jones. Chipper completed the year with a batting average of .364, which was good enough for him to win his first Batting Title. He beat out Albert Pujols, who hit .357.

His .364 average is the highest to win a NL batting title since Barry Bonds hit .370 in 2002. It was the highest to win a Batting Title in either league since Ichiro hit .372 in 2004 to win the AL Batting Title.

He became the first Brave to win the Batting Title since current hitting coach Terry Pendleton hit .319 in 1991. He became the 11^th Brave to win it. He joins the likes of Terry Pendleton (.319 in 1991), Ralph Garr (.353 in 1974), Rico Carty (.366 in 1970), Hank Aaron (.355 in 1959 and .328 in 1956), Ernie Lombardi (.342 in 1938), Rogers Hornsby (.387 in 1928), Hugh Duffy (.440 in 1894), Dan Bouthers (.373 in 1889), Deacon White (.387 in 1877 and .367 in 1875), and Ross Barnes (.425 in 1873 and .432 in 1872).

He is the first switch hitter to win the award since Bill Mueller won the AL Batting Title in 2003 hitting .329. He fell just short of beating Micky Mantle’s record of .365, the highest of any switch hitter in a single season. He was a single hit short of beating that record.

Chipper, as many may recall, hit .400 until June 18^th, 73 games into the season. His lowest average was .356, which came on September 6^th. He had 3 months in which he hit .400 or better; March/April (.410), May (.417), and September (.408). His worst month average wise came in July when he hit just .270.

Congratulations to Chipper Jones, for winning his first Batting Title in his Hall of Fame career.

ESPN is reporting that Mark Teixeira has already been dealt to the Angles:

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark on Tuesday that Atlanta Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira is headed to the Los Angeles Angels for Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Steven Marek.

We’ll have more on this as it develops.

Update – 6:24 PM EST:

It’s a done deal, as reported on the Brave’s official website.