Cubs Shopping Soriano To Orioles
Tweet from Phil Rogers: "#cubs are trying to interest #orioles in Alfonso Soriano as a LF/DH option. Strict salary dump, w/#cubs paying bulk of $54m he's owed."
Please, please, please, Orioles. Take him.
6 months ago
Al Yellon
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Lee is a free agent.
I believe the Pirates have offered him arb.
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Good to know
That even though we’ve gone from Hendry to Theo/Jed, the Orioles will still bail us out of our problem players.
"Hey! If the moon were made of ribs, wouldja eat it? I know I would!"
And Baltimore has a new GM, too.
Must have been in Duquette’s contract, that he has to take at least one Cubs reject a year.
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To be fair to the Orioles
it doesn’t say whether they’re actually interested in Soriano. Just that the Cubs are “trying to interest the Orioles in Soriano.”
And further
it’s also a tweet rumor, and we know those should never be taken seriously.
Unless...
Soriano is seen at a Balitmore Starbucks.
by EcoGeek on Dec 6, 2011 2:40 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
HA!
Chronologically inept since 2060
Q: Why did Chuck Norris cross the road?
A: Ditka
Ditka's mustache can kill two stones with one bird
It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money! - Irish toast.
Let's be super-extra cautious with anything reported by Phildo.
That being said, I hope Soriano never plays for the Cubs again.
"I'm not a broadcaster! I'm me!"--Ron Santo
This would clear up room for a big signing
and give Sori a place with less expectations to finish out his career.
by chrisw95 on Dec 6, 2011 11:34 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
would not clear very much salary
Cubs would be paying the bulk of it.
The bottom is loaded with nice people, Albert. Only cream and bastards rise
by Doggie Stalker on Dec 6, 2011 11:40 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
I took ChrisW95
to mean clear up room in LF, not in salary
that was more what I meant
clear up room for a better fit. Of course, it could free up some monies as well, but not that much.
Big signing salary, probably not in LF, but an impact player, yes.
Sorry for the confusion. :)
In total agreement on this one, Al.
I wonder who might come back to the Cubs?
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
FELIX PIE!
"Hey! If the moon were made of ribs, wouldja eat it? I know I would!"
Hee hee.
Pie is a free agent. The Cubs can get him back any time.
Does it matter who the Cubs get? Clearing the roster spot is the important thing.
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Doesn't matter that much.
We’ll probably get some fringy prospects. I’m just wondering if we might end up with somebody from the big-league roster whom the Orioles would like to dump instead.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Possible, I suppose.
Brian Roberts?
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Chris Davis anyone?
"We gotta circle the bandwagons." - Devin Hester
by Jose's Eyelid on Dec 6, 2011 12:28 PM CST up reply actions
That'd be hilarious.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I'm not a big Barney fan.
No power plus few walks doesn’t do much for me. I could easily see him becoming Ryan Theriot with a better glove and a lesser ability to slap a single.
That makes Roberts a little bit intriguing — though the fact that Roberts has missed most of the past two seasons is pretty significant.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Barney by the numbers is Theriot all over again
Chronologically inept since 2060
Q: Why did Chuck Norris cross the road?
A: Ditka
Ditka's mustache can kill two stones with one bird
It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money! - Irish toast.
Better defensively, but yeah.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I'm fine with Barney starting for the time being.
At least he brings strong defense, good baserunning, and gets enough singles to be a fine option in the eight spot.
true he is a double clutch away from matching
Chronologically inept since 2060
Q: Why did Chuck Norris cross the road?
A: Ditka
Ditka's mustache can kill two stones with one bird
It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money! - Irish toast.
Slow down
We’re presuming the Orioles actually have interest, which has not even been suggested yet.
Essentially, all we have at this point is a tweet from Phil Rogers basically saying “the Cubs would like to try to pawn Soriano off on the Orioles if the Orioles will listen.”
Stop crushing my dreams!
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Jake Fox!
Is he still with Baltimore?
Yeah, I know there should be an apostrophe in "Vails," but punctuation wasn't an option when I signed up.
by Mike Vails Evil Twin on Dec 6, 2011 11:56 AM CST up reply actions
Nope, also with Pittsburgh
"We gotta circle the bandwagons." - Devin Hester
by Jose's Eyelid on Dec 6, 2011 12:04 PM CST up reply actions
Thanks
Great alias, BTW!
Yeah, I know there should be an apostrophe in "Vails," but punctuation wasn't an option when I signed up.
by Mike Vails Evil Twin on Dec 6, 2011 12:13 PM CST up reply actions
Well, your alias is actually my favorite of anyone's here
I just have to ask though, is your first name Noah and do you play first base?
I ask because Brickhouse always seemed to say that the throw to first in an attempt at a double play was to Noah Vail, even if LaCock or Thornton or the great Pat Bourque was playing first.
"We gotta circle the bandwagons." - Devin Hester
by Jose's Eyelid on Dec 6, 2011 12:22 PM CST up reply actions
LOL!
Pat Bourque, the thinking man’s Hal Breeden!
And Mom always liked Mike best. I’ll never forgive her for that.
Yeah, I know there should be an apostrophe in "Vails," but punctuation wasn't an option when I signed up.
by Mike Vails Evil Twin on Dec 6, 2011 12:51 PM CST up reply actions
Is it legal to dump all our turds onto one team like this?
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Dec 6, 2011 11:54 AM CST reply actions
Apparently it's required by the new CBA.
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They must've carried over that clause from the old one.
Seriously, if this happens…it will be incredibly amusing.
"[The Cubs] have a very famous tradition in baseball, and it will be nice to be part of turning it around." ~ Jamie Quirk, Bench Coach
We'd lose streaky offense, true.
Still, we’d get dramatically better defensively.
I do remember a while back Theo/Jed commenting on being told by Ricketts they were able to eat any contracts they had to in order to improve the team. This is a great first step in that direction.
These guys are serious about getting better.
Too bad we couldn't have given them a Cyber Monday deal
Get Soriano for free with a guaranteed leg injury to keep him off the field for 75% of the season.
While I would be happy to never see Soriano play for the Cubs again
How exactly does this help if we pay the bulk of the salary and don’t have a +1.0 WAR player to replace him?
It seems to me a “salary dump” is only worth while if you don’t actually pay the salary
My guess is
Sori will be on the Cubs roster opening day
"For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love." Carl Sagan
Is it inconceivable that Sori
has a good year (for him) next year? Say 270/330/500? He would still be overpayed but at least useful.
Would you rather have him put up that line with the O’s with the Cubs paying 80% or more of his salary, or with the Cubs?
"We gotta circle the bandwagons." - Devin Hester
He hasn't put up a batting average or OBP like that since 2008.
The question is probably should the Cubs hold on to him only for his slugging numbers, which were still pretty good in 2011 — .469 SLG, .225 ISO. I think I’d still lean toward moving him, if I could. Then you hang on to Byrd for left field, start Brett Jackson in center and have DeJesus in right.
"[The Cubs] have a very famous tradition in baseball, and it will be nice to be part of turning it around." ~ Jamie Quirk, Bench Coach
And Johnson as your fourth outfielder.
Even getting some savings on Soriano means you could probably swing Fielder and Headley — which would give you a lineup of:
DeJesus, Jackson, Castro, Fielder, Headley, Byrd, Soto, Barney
That’s a LOT of pressure on Castro — and it assumes that the Cubs can land Headley.
But it’s an interesting lineup, with some upside. And you could switch Jackson and Barney, if need be.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
That would be an interesting lineup...
…and one I could definitely get behind going into the season. Another downside to it, though, would be putting a lot of pressure on Headley batting behind Prince. But still…interesting.
"[The Cubs] have a very famous tradition in baseball, and it will be nice to be part of turning it around." ~ Jamie Quirk, Bench Coach
Headley batting fifth is better than any option we have.
That is, unless we did something weird, like hit Castro fifth.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I'd rather see Castro bat second in that lineup
… and Headley third.
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Who bats fifth though?
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
See below.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I really don't know what to make of Soto anymore.
He struck out a TON last year and his OPS was only slightly better than what he had in 2009. I know he’s got the every-other-year thing, and maybe he should hit sixth (rather than Byrd).
But counting on him to hit fifth could really backfire.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Your point is taken.
Many here wanted to see him hit higher all year in 2011, though.
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Do you think that affected his performance?
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Soto has a lot of defenders around here.
But I’m not one of them. I don’t see any reasons for optimism from last year — he didn’t have a good second half, or a good first half. He played in 125 games, so you figure that unless he was playing through an injury (or if I’m forgetting one) there wasn’t anything that would be an excuse for a bad year or a mitigating factor.
The best reason for optimism is his Saberhagen-style-every-other-year numbers, and the best defense for Soto generally is that his numbers, even in bad years, are OK because he’s a catcher who knows how to draw a walk.
I’m not saying we should dump Soto, but I don’t know if we should slot him as our No. 5 hitter.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I wouldn't slot Soto in as a #5 hitter
He’s still a valuable catcher. And if he has a great bounceback year he’s an extremely valuable #6-7 hitter. But like you said, there’s a lot of reason for concern with him in the #5 spot. Not the least of which is that, as a catcher, we’d still need another #5 hitter for 40-50 games (even if he’s good Soto).
Soriano didn't have a bad year.
Which is why you should move him now. If he falls off a cliff in 2012, we’ll wish Theo capitalized at the right time.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
The Orioles would be a great place for him to go, too
Different league, and it’s a team that’s still largely irrelevant. The impact to the Cubs would be strictly money.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Dec 6, 2011 1:26 PM CST up reply actions
If he falls off a cliff, don't we have insurance to cover that?
Any cliffs around Wrigley that we know of?
That would be awesome if the Orioles took even more of our garbage.
- crosses fingers *
"They sell every ticket to every game, win or lose!" - Tom Ricketts
Can we pay the bulk of his salary in bitcoins?
"Whenever one finds himself in the majority, it is time to step back and reflect," Mark Twain.
by WindisBlowingOut! on Dec 6, 2011 2:10 PM CST reply actions
Monopoly money is now being accepted at Camden, from what I hear.
Or tips on car crashes and slip-and-fall accidents at Wal-Mart. That Angelos dude is awesome.
"I'm not a broadcaster! I'm me!"--Ron Santo
Trade away the one guy on our team that can hit more than 15 home runs?
No thank you. With the void of Pena and Ramirez not filled yet, we cannot afford to trade away Soriano unless we sign either Pujols or Fielder. If neither are aquired and we trade Soriano, the Cubs will have the worst offense in the league next season. I don’t understand the extreme contempt for Soriano. Yes, he is overpaid and declining, but he at least contributes to the offense. What difference does it make if it changes the defense from 2/3 to 3/3 good if we do not have a single legitimate power bat?
Viva la Cubs Révolution!!!
If the Cubs trade Soriano ...
there is very little chance that they won’t acquire someone with equal or more power. Also, wanting to trade Soriano now isn’t based on contempt. It’s a very real possibility that, in a year, he won’t even be appealing as a very cheap DH, because another year in left could further wreck his legs. If you don’t try to trade him now, you might be stuck with a very expensive millstone in left for the next three seasons.
But an AL team might look at Soriano as a guy who can be a cheap DH for three seasons. It’s conceivable that he’ll hold up for that long to be worth a discounted price if he doesn’t have to play in the field.
TheoJed are clearly looking at 2012 AND beyond. Soriano might have enough to hit 25 HRs in 2012 for the Cubs. But in 2013-14? I really doubt it.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
"there is very little chance that they won’t acquire someone with equal or more power"
Besides Pujols or Fielder, give me names of players available. Then I’ll feel comfortable.
Viva la Cubs Révolution!!!
I'm still betting on us getting Fielder.
And, anyway, that Pena guy had more home runs and similar slugging to Soriano last year.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
So much for this rumor.
http://twitter.com/#!/danconnollysun/status/144118349729775617
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
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