At the end of a couple of curious days, during which Rafael Furcal reportedly agreed to sign with the Atlanta Braves, then resumed negotiations with the Los Angeles Dodgers (depending on one's perspective), the free-agent shortstop reached an agreement Wednesday afternoon to return to the Dodgers.

According to sources familiar with the negotiations, talks between team owner Frank McCourt, general manager Ned Colletti and agents Arn Tellem and Paul Kinzer resulted in a three-year, $30 million deal.

A Dodgers source said the contract includes a fourth-year option for $12 million, vesting with 600 plate appearances in the third year. The deal is backloaded, with Furcal getting $6.5 million in 2009, $8.5 million in 2010 and $12 million in 2011. He also will be paid a deferred signing bonus of $3 million at the end of the contract.

The Dodgers' offer had been at two years with an option for a third until Wednesday.

In Atlanta, Braves officials who were so optimistic they had acquired Furcal

Rafael Furcal might not be an Atlanta Brave just yet, much to the dismay of the Atlanta Braves.

Because while certain people in the organization were confirming Tuesday that, yes, the Braves had come to an agreement to bring their former shortstop back to Atlanta after three years in L.A., Furcal's agents – Paul Kinzer and Arn Tellem – were still doing business with the Dodgers.

The normally accessible Kinzer on Tuesday couldn't be reached, his phone going straight to voice mail. Tellem is notoriously difficult to reach, and returned neither emails or phone calls.

Meantime, Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said mid-afternoon PT Tuesday that he he was under the impression he was still negotiating.

About Furcal.

And about Furcal playing for the Dodgers.

So, despite those reports (and the Braves' apparent assumption it was done), it appears Furcal by early evening in Atlanta was still choosing between offers, and still hoping the Dodgers would come up on their original offer of two

Assuming Rafael Furcal's back is sound and he passes the Atlanta Braves' physical, the next free agent shortstop to go should be Orlando Cabrera, who is sturdier and plays more often than Furcal, but is three years older and isn't the same caliber of leadoff hitter Furcal.

Nevertheless, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics, losers on Furcal, are likely to shift their attention to Cabrera, an edgy player who quickly wore out his welcome with the Chicago White Sox.

The Toronto Blue Jays, who withdrew their interest in Furcal before he agreed to terms with the Braves on Tuesday, probably will be peripheral players on Cabrera. They liked Furcal in large part because of his leadoff skills.

The Kansas City Royals also are looking for a shortstop and could make a play for Cabrera, although he might be out of their price range. The Dodgers, however, are most in need of a shortstop, and of Cabrera.

Omar Vizquel, still a marvel of conditioning and flexibility at age 41, can field but

Free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal has agreed to terms with the Atlanta Braves, a Braves source confirmed Tuesday morning.

The decision comes after six weeks of free agency for Furcal, a fluid period in which only the Oakland A's and Los Angeles Dodgers were constant suitors.

Terms of the contract were unknown. The agreement was first reported by Foxsports.com.

The Dodgers, who had paid him $39 million over the previous three seasons, offered two guaranteed years. Hoping to add a leadoff hitter who would be on base for Matt Holliday and a long-term solution to Bobby Crosby at shortstop, the A's offered four guaranteed years at something approaching $40 million.

Furcal, 31, missed 4½ months last season because of lower back pain and, eventually, surgery to pare a calcified bulge from a disc. For their $39 million, the Dodgers received one very good season (2006), one average season (2007) in which Furcal suffered from knee and ankle soreness, and one 36-game season (2008).

Remarkably,

Free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal will accept an offer from one of four teams by Tuesday, his agent, Paul Kinzer, said Monday afternoon.

Furcal is considering offers from the Oakland A's, Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals and one other team, Kinzer said, adding that the Toronto Blue Jays no longer are in the bidding.

The A's are believed to be the only team in for four years, at about $40 million. The Dodgers, concerned whether Furcal's back will hold up over the course of a long-term deal, have offered a two-year contract with a vesting option for a third season. Kinzer recently asked the Dodgers to consider guaranteeing the third year.

Asked if, as things stand, he would take the A's offer, Kinzer said, "I can't say that yet."

He added, "We're going to make a decision soon. By [Tuesday]."

Furcal played the last three seasons with the Dodgers, hitting .357 in 36 games played during an injury-plagued 2008. He is a career .286 hitter who has stolen 20 or more bases eight times in

Nobody does gluttony quite like the New York Yankees, and there have been few Yankees quite like these Yankees, who missed the playoffs and have a new ballpark to sell out and a recession to balance and a couple new Steinbrenners at the top.

They came to terms Friday afternoon with free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett on a five-year contract for $82.5 million, driving their 48-hour, two-pitcher payout over $240 million.

The Rays and the Red Sox, it turns out, just managed to tick the Yankees off.

“Good to be king,” one AL general manager said on his way out of the Bellagio hotel this week.

The Yankees scrapped their plan – and it was going to be an organizational philosophy, actually, which is even bigger than a plan – to wait on the young arms they so believed in. Now, with CC Sabathia and Burnett on their way to the Bronx and Andy Pettitte or Ben Sheets still possibilities, the only comer they’ve saved a place for is Joba Chamberlain.

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They might just as likely sign Derek

LAS VEGAS – The New York Mets acquired Seattle Mariners closer J.J. Putz in a three-way trade that also included the Cleveland Indians, two sources said Wednesday evening at the winter meetings.

The Mets' pursuit of Putz underscores the extent to which they want to rebuild their bullpen, which blew a crippling 29 saves last season and led to a September collapse for the second year in a row. Only a day ago, New York signed closer Francisco Rodriguez to a three-year, $37 million deal with a vesting option for a fourth year.

Apparently Putz would be utilized as the eighth-inning setup reliever. He had 15 saves last season while fighting injuries, and had 40 saves in 2007 and 36 in 2006. He is owed $6 million next season, the last year of his contract, although there is a club option for $8.6 million in 2010.

Mets GM Omar Minaya said he'd identified Rodriguez and Putz as the best two closers on the market at the start of the offseason.

“I'm not going to tell you which order,” Minaya said,

LAS VEGAS – Trying to unload Jake Peavy has become such a chore for the San Diego Padres that they've established a self-imposed, curiously arbitrary deadline for a trade to the Chicago Cubs to be completed.

Tomorrow. As in Thursday, when baseball executives check out of their rooms at the Bellagio hotel and return home, another winter meetings a hectic, hazy memory.

"I told the Cubs, tomorrow is the day," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said.

Towers has become impatient with the Cubs failure to unload starting pitcher Jason Marquis and his $9.875 million contract for 2009, the condition Chicago says must be met before they agree to the three- or four-team deal that would net them the Cy Young Award winner Peavy.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies are believed to be the other teams in the deal. Names such as Felix Pie, Mark DeRosa, Garrett Olson and Kyle Kendrick have been tossed into the mix, although it is unclear precisely who would go where should the deal happen.