Mets Have Reached out to Rafael Furcal

According to Jorge Castillo of the Star-Ledger, the Mets have reached out to free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal.

Furcal, 36, missed the entire 2013 campaign after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

In 121 games in 2012, Furcal hit .264 with a .325 OBP, and saw his defensive ability continue to slip.

His arm strength, which used to be his calling card, has declined steadily each year starting in 2009.  Furcal has also been ridiculously injury prone.

Thoughts from Sam Maxwell:

Furcal was once heralded as not only a great shortstop prospect for the Atlanta Braves, but was supposedly the first 80’s-born player to debut in the Majors when he appeared for the first time on April 4th, 2000.

Well, guess what? As it turned out with many Latin ballplayers of the day, he wasn’t as young as he claimed, actually born on October 24th, 1977, as opposed to 1980.

So, not only is he not as young anymore, he’s also….not as young anymore.

He’s had a great career, and has provided some great skill and leadership for the teams he has played for. When it comes to the 2014 New York Mets, however, either Stephen Drew or Jhonny Peralta make more sense, even if they would cost more money.  Still, I understand that the Mets are doing their due diligence.

At this point, though, a longer-term and more reliable fix at the shortstop position is needed.

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