Term Sheets, Southpaw Sluggers and Other Rumors

post from ChicagoCubsOnline.com on 19 December 2008 01:30:00 AM. © ChicagoCubsOnline.com

At least Jim Hendry now has a new member in the 'Furcaled Club'. Three years after being very close to signing with the Cubs, and some reports then suggested the Cubs had an agreement in place, Rafael Furcal and his agents did it again. The former Brave along with his agents Paul Kinzer and Arn Tellem reportedly received a term sheet from the Braves on Tuesday morning on a new 3-year contract.....and in the baseball world; a term sheet is viewed as a handshake agreement that a deal is done. To make a long story short, Furcal has since agreed to terms on a new contract with the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves' organization is a 'little upset'. Will Furcal try to pull this again in three years?

On the Cubs front, the week following the end of the Winter Meetings has been relatively quiet, with the exception of signing Joey Gathright....which still has many shaking their head and questioning another decision by Jim Hendry this winter.

While the Cubs have no interest in signing Mark Teixeira his yet undecided location could be affecting their off-season. Many feel once Teixeira signs his new deal other players, such as Milton Bradley, will be able to look at all of the options in front of them and make a decision on their future. The Red Sox were reportedly working on a huge contract Thursday night with Scott Boras, but the Red Sox apparently are not offering enough. Some reports indicated Teixeira could make an announcement at some point on Friday.

Here's the latest from the mill, including a surprising statement about Adam Dunn....