Alfonso Soriano is NOT overpaid--HARDBALL TIMES Alfonso Soriano is a popular totem for the failures of the Cubs' Jim Hendry era, and he often is considered the quintessential scapegoat of excessive free agent spending by "old school" general managers who valued guts and brand names over aging curves, walk rates and other modern sabermetric standards. He is routinely ranked among the worst contracts in baseball (did I miss any major media outlets there?). If Vernon Wells' contract was tradeable, what did that say about the unmoveable Soriano? Heck, even I have been guilty of Soriano contract bashing from time to time. But you know something? The more I research the matter, the less I am convinced that Soriano is an "overpaid bum." Let's examine the facts.