The Strange Case of Alfonso Soriano

Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer have been trying to move Soriano, who is owed $54 million over the next three years, since December, according to major league sources. The sources say the Cubs have talked to as many as eight teams, mostly in the American League.

(snip)

"I won't go to just any team. I want to be with a contender. I also want to be in the playoffs again. So I'd have to be comfortable with both the team and the city I get traded to."

In 2011, Soriano had his best run-production season since signing an eight-year, $136 million contract with the Cubs in November of 2006, posting 26 home runs and 88 RBIs.

His Wikipedia entry is worth a read too; here is a key passage.

During the first few weeks of the 2008 season with the Cubs, Soriano struggled. He was only hitting .190 at the time he was put on the DL with a bad leg. After being activated, Soriano got off to a quick start, raising his average to .280 and increasing his home run total. In a one week stretch in May, he hit 7 home runs in just 6 games, hitting nearly .500 during that stretch. At the end of May he had 12 home runs and 33 RBIs. However, his defense was extremely poor, and after being placed on the DL early in the season, Soriano was encouraged to stop hopping as he caught fly balls.[citation needed]This seemed to affect his play in the field as he misjudged two balls in St. Louis on May 2, shortly after being activated. After being severely booed by Cub fans who had traveled to St. Louis in that particular game,[citation needed] he homered in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.Later that month, he lost a ball in the sun and dropped what would have been the game's final out in the 9th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing Jason Bay to reach safely and eventually costing the Cubs a win.

But most fascinating is the Baseball Reference entry. Take a look at 2001 to 2006, and then the dropoff after that. His hitting made a comeback in 2010 and 2011, but his stolen bases, a big part of his mystique, don't look like they're coming back, probably due to his knee surgery (and whatever led to the surgery) in 2009.

Oh, what might have been. Young Soriano was terrifying. He sprung from that crazy crouch stance and exploded all over the field. Everything about him just screamed ballplayer.

Now his team would rather eat some of his money than keep him. We can wonder why, and that quote above hints at some arrogance, but all these guys are a little arrogant, it's required. It comes down to this: baseball is a cruel game.

Are the Red Sox one of those eight teams? I hope so.