As Soriano Heats Up, So Does His Trade Value
By Rob Winn in News on Jul 10, 2013 3:45PM
As soon as a month ago Alfonso Soriano was a baseball leper. A forgotten player roaming left field for another losing Cubs team, quietly collecting the last two years of his 8-year, $136 million deal. But suddenly Soriano heated up, is looking like a player 10-years younger and teams in the playoff hunt are paying attention. In the last two weeks he is hitting .400 with eight home runs and 17 RBI.
Make no mistake: it will still be quite a feat for the Epstein/Hoyer brain trust to move Soriano. He still has one year and $26 million left on his deal. The Cubs will have to pick up most, if not his entire remaining contract for any team to even consider trading for him. Also, Soriano has a full no-trade clause, so he will have to approve any deal.
After Monday's win against the White Sox, Soriano made it known he would approve a trade to a playoff contender. "If somebody asks for me, it has to be a contender for the playoffs," Soriano said. "But I don't want to think about it. (We'll) see what happens."
The Texas Rangers are a possibility since their designated hitter and resident Wrigley Field-hater, Lance Berkman landed on the disabled list. The Rangers currently lead the wild card and could use a DH. The Yankees are another team desperate for offensive help. Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson have missed most of the season and the Yankees have struggled to score runs as a result. The Yankees are currently two and a half games back of Tampa Bay for the wild card and six games back of the Red Sox in their division. Soriano came up as a Yankee and played one of his best season there in 2002.
Much of Soriano's recent success can be attributed to rest. He was given consecutive days off recently and manager Dale Sveum used him solely as a DH in series against Seattle and Oakland. If the Cubs are willing to pick up most of his deal, an American League team might give up a few prospects in return for an aging player who could find success as a DH. (Many would argue that Soriano should have stayed in the American League and been a DH for most of his career.) It will be an uphill climb for the Cubs front office to get anything of value for Soriano, but these are the same guys that picked up an actual baseball player for Carlos Marmol, so anything is possible.