Cardinals close to two-year deal with Furcal

ST. LOUIS On the day that Albert Pujols was officially introduced as an Anaheim Angel at a large pep rally outside Angels Stadium, his former team was moving on. The Cardinals and free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal moved closer to completing an agreement on a two-year contract Saturday worth a reported 14 million, a source confirmed to FOXSportsMidwest.com. The often-injured Furcal was on the disabled list twice last season with the Dodgers but joined the Cardinals at the trade deadline and hit .255 in 50 games and helped them rally to win the National League Wild Card. But Furcal, who started the "happy flight" chant that become popular with the Cardinals down the stretch, hit just .194 (15-for-77) in the playoffs. The return of Furcal means less playing time for Tyler Greene, who was in line to be the starter at shortstop. The Cardinals could platoon Greene at second base with Dan Descalso and Skip Schumaker or they could look to trade him. Furcal was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2000 with the Braves and made the All-Star team in both 2003 and 2010. Hes an above-average defender and has stolen at least 20 bases in nine different seasons. The 34-year-old Furcal has been to the playoffs in nine of his 12 big league seasons.