There's a saying that goes you should "strike while the iron is hot." Well right now, Alfonso Soriano is incendiary, and I say this is the best time to explore trade options for the Cubs mercurial left fielder.
In his last three games, Soriano has slammed four homers and driven in 10 runs.
On the season, he's batting .325 with 6 HR, 17 RBI, and (for you stats geeks out there) an incredible .1057 OPS.
Both the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves are struggling right now and could use a big bat in the lineup. Both teams also have money to spend, especially the deep-pocketed Red Sox.
The Red Sox are in fourth place in the AL East, ahead of only the lowly Baltimore Orioles. Even this early, fourth place is not acceptable for the Red Sox, especially when they have the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays in their division.
If they fall too far behind, they may never recover.
With David Ortiz failing miserably in the DH spot, there is talk that they might just release him.
What better option would there be for them than to trade for a player who could make the "Green Monster" his own personal batting target, knocking balls off and over the wall like they're ping pong balls?
Both Ortiz and Mike Lowell are currently sharing the DH spot in the lineup. Perhaps the Cubs could take Lowell off their hands and save them the $12.5 million they owe him this year.
Boston is a team that could pick up Soriano's salary, which is not the most attractive contract in baseball. Perhaps the Cubs could even pick up some of it if necessary to smooth things along.
If I were Cubs GM Jim Hendry, I would ask for some prospects, but the goal here is to get rid of Soriano while the getting is good. Anything you get back in return is gravy.
And there is no better position on the field for Soriano to play than the DH, a position he was born for.
You could also look at the Braves who have a combined 13 RBI's from Melky Cabrera, Matt Diaz, and Nate McLouth in the outfield. They would be starving for runs if not for rookie sensation Jason Hayward and his 23 ribbies, but wouldn't Soriano's bat look great added to that lineup?
Again, ask for prospects and take whatever they give you, along with throwing in a couple of bags of money to cover some of the tariff he's still owed for the next four years after this one.
The Cubs aren't going anywhere this year anyway, even with Soriano.
He's looking like a different hitter so far this year, more patient and selective at the plate, perhaps thanks to new hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo.
Whether that will last nobody knows, but he's always been a streak hitter throughout his career. Why not take advantage of his latest hot streak and find a sucker to take him off your hands before he goes back into a hitting funk, and the only highlights you see are of him on SportsCenter botching another fly ball?
This is addition by subtraction and makes the Cubs a stronger team in the coming years with more payroll flexibility.
Of course, like every Cub player, he has a no trade contract, so some sweetener will have to be added to the sweetest contract in baseball for a player of his limited abilities.
There also could be a few other teams out there that might bite, like the LA teams in the AL and NL, neither of whom has gotten off to a very good start.
All I'm saying is put his name out there and see if you get a taker. Toronto did that last year when they put Alex Rios on waivers. The White Sox claimed him and Toronto said, "He's yours, we don't need anything back."
The Sox were stuck with him and his bloated deal.
Of course Soriano's deal dwarfs his, but as P.T. Barnum once allegedly said, "There's a sucker born every minute."
Do you think the Cubs can be lucky enough to find that sucker?
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