Alfonso Soriano, OF, Chicago Cubs

November 21, 2006 @ 16:00:00

By Joshua Ellis
Edited by Ryan Dodson

The rumor mill has been turning in Chicago this offseason, and it has produced, what will amount to, a new-look Chicago Cubs team for the 2007 season.

On Sunday Nov. 19, the Cubs and outfielder Alfonso Soriano agreed, in principal, to an eight-year contract worth around $136 million. Several teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros, were also in the hunt for Soriano's services. This is just the latest in what has been a very active offseason for the team from the North Side of Chicago.

Earlier this offseason the Cubs hired former Tampa Bay Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella to a three-year contract and signed catcher Henry Blanco to a two-year contract, third baseman Aramis Ramirez to a five-year contract, pitcher Kerry Wood to a one-year contract, second baseman Mark DeRosa to a three-year contract and pitcher Wade Miller to a one-year contract. The big deal though, was signing the former Washington Nationals All-Star, who will turn 31 in just under two months.

It's a bit of a curious move because Soriano hasn't been tested playing centerfield, it blocks their top prospect - centerfielder Felix Pie - and Soriano struck out 160 times and expects to be the leadoff hitter. The Cubs have predominately been a team that relies on the three-run homer. Soriano can steal bases and get in position for the heart of the order to drive him in. From this perspective, it was a great move. However, did they throw too much money at a player exiting his prime until he turns 39? I guess the Chicago Tribune Co. isn't worried too much about how much it costs to compete. Will they compete with their mostly unproven and fragile starting rotation outside of stud starter Carlos Zambrano?

Soriano was born in the Dominican Republic and began his professional baseball career rather unsuccessfully in the Japanese League for the Hiroshima Carp. In two seasons with them, Soriano batted just .233 with eight home runs and 14 stolen bases in 134 games. Nonetheless, he was still signed by the New York Yankees as an infielder in 1998.

He began his American baseball career at the bottom of the totem pole in the Yankees' minor league system. Soriano started in rookie ball and worked his way up to seeing his first major league action on Sept. 14, 1999. Soriano didn't see much success again however, as he played in 31 games in his first two seasons splitting time with the Yankees and the Columbus Clippers, who used to be the Yankees Triple-A affiliate. During that span, he batted .172 with three home runs and two stolen bases. Things really began to take off though when Soriano became the Yankees starting second baseman in 2001.

Entering a lineup full of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers, Soriano was a relative unknown as a starter for the Bronx Bombers in 2001. He was a pioneer into the new trend of power-hitting second baseman in the major leagues and in his final three seasons in New York. Soriano batted .287 with 95 home runs and 119 stolen bases. He quickly went from an unknown from the Dominican Republic to being mentioned in the same breath with former AL MVP Alex Rodriguez.

That breath later turned into trade winds and the deal was done in 2004 that sent Soriano and minor leaguer Joaquin Arias to the Texas Rangers for Rodriguez and $67 million in one of the biggest trades in MLB history.

The friendly hitting confines of Ameriquest Field in Arlington where the Rangers played their home games would help Soriano to two more successful seasons. In 2004, Soriano hit .280 with 28 home runs and 18 stolen bases, and in 2005, he hit .268 with 36 home runs and 30 stolen bases. Now, with five excellent seasons in the major leagues, Soriano's unsuccessful start to his career had been forgotten. 

After playing in a very hitter-friendly ball park, in the 2005 offseason, Soriano was traded to the Washington Nationals for outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge and minor league pitcher Armando Galarraga and would now call the pitcher-friendly RFK Stadium home.

The change of scenery and poor ballpark didn't hurt Soriano's offensive statistics. The fact that he was in a contract year and his move to the leadoff spot only strengthened his numbers towards one of the best offensive seasons by a single player in Major League Baseball history. In 2006, Soriano became just the fourth player ever to join the prestigious 40-40 Club. The 40-40 club includes Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and now Soriano as the only players to have 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season. He also hit .277 with 95 RBI and 119 runs scored.

With the move to Chicago, it appears that Soriano will remain as an outfielder because of the signing of DeRosa to play second base for the Cubs. Soriano will be playing in a better hitters' park, especially when the Chicago winds are blowing out, and will be in a more run-producing lineup with Ramirez back to play third base and a healthy first baseman Derrek Lee back from his injury-plagued 2006 season. If you are wondering about Soriano's stolen base numbers, don't, because the last Piniella-managed team was the Devil Rays in 2005 and they finished third in the majors in total stolen bases. He also coached speedster and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki for two years in Seattle and during that span he had 87 stolen bases. So Soriano should have ample opportunity to steal bases.

Overall, in theory the move from Washington to Chicago should boost all of Soriano's 5x5 fantasy numbers. The more run-producing lineup should mean more runs and RBI, the better ballpark should produce more home runs and the more aggressive manager should produce more stolen bases. But look out Soriano fans. In my mind there is no way Soriano can have a better year than he did last season. His statistics were utterly outstanding. This could have been the result of being in a contract year and the necessity to perform for his last big contract. The contract Soriano got was modeled after New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran who is a very similar player to Soriano. Beltran received a seven-year, $119 million contract in 2004 after a split season with the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros. In that season he hit .267 with 38 home runs, 121 runs scored, 104 RBI and 42 stolen bases. The following year, after his new contract, Beltran hit .266 with 16 home runs, 83 runs scored, 78 RBI and just 17 stolen bases. Soriano could have another great year in Chicago next year, but the precedent has been set by Beltran to have a poor statistical season in the first year for a new team after a gigantic contract.

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Joshua Ellis
Joshua has been a KFFL contributor since 2006.

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