ESPN NEws reporting Nationals won't trade Soriano

[joesalto]

says they will try to work out a long term deal

[IronCaballo4]

Dee Dee Dee

[Matt]

I hope they plan on throwing a ton of money at him in the offseason or else they can kiss him goodbye.

[Yankee Bulldawg]

I hope they plan on throwing a ton of money at him in the offseason or else they can kiss him goodbye.

this is a surprise apparently since they were first saying that they could not afford to keep Soriano

[Jetfanmack]

They do get the two draft picks, but wow.

[nyyfan11111]

Their idiots....Soriano's value was high and they could have gotten top tier prospects. Jim Bowden really needs to get fired

[In Mo I Trust]

Luckily for Nats fans that Seattle rumor apparently isn't true.

[NelsonMuntz]

Rumor is that Bowden was being completely unrealistic with his demands:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...oop/index.html

The biggest complaint on Sunday was over having to deal with Bowden, who called his top people to Los Angeles to stage a pow-wow. It was a strange use of manpower in that the Nats are admittedly undermanned in their scouting department and supposedly dealing with a half-dozen or more teams. Characterizations of Bowden's asking prices for baseball's best rental player ranged from "astronomical'' to "unrealistic'' to "insane.'' We'll see what he gets today. My guess is it'll be plenty sane.

[nyyfan11111]

Bowden should have just done best deal offered. Really stupid of Bowden

[mrbawm]

Bowden once again proves he's an idiot.

[In Mo I Trust]

Rumor is that Bowden was being completely unrealistic with his demands:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...oop/index.html

Haha not surprising.

[BillBuckner]

Idiots.

[JeffWeaverFan]

Just when I thought Bowden was doing a great job with his trades of Stanton and the relief pitchers, he fails to trade Sori... Wow.

[Quangormo]

They just got new owners. They have put out a major effort to bring people to the ballpark. The casual fans in DC wouldn't understand trading Sori, who is the Nats' acknowledged star. If they can work out a longterm deal, they have a very good player around whom they can build their club.

I'm sure they would not have held onto him unless they were fairly confident that a longterm deal will get done. I wouldn't be surprised if you hear about that soon.

I'm somewhat surprised that Livan Hernendez, Jose Vidro (who is just a day or two from coming off the DL), Ramon Ortiz, and Tony Armas are still Nationals.

[LecheCaberera2826]

HA HA HA HA, Richard Justice from the Houston Chronicle was asked on PTI if it was a mistake that the Nats didn't trade Sori, and he said "NO, because it is good for baseball in DC and fans will get to see a guy they are going to sign long-term, EVEN THOUGH HE WILL PROBABLY GO TO SIGN WITH THE YANKEES!!!"

this guy is a CRACK POT, i think him and Jim Bowden have been drinking together!!!!

[mrbawm]

Soriano's not going to the Yankees either. That's it, I'm gonna become a TV sports personality, you can just make things up and having a brain is not required.

[Quangormo]

HA HA HA HA, Richard Justice from the Houston Chronicle was asked on PTI if it was a mistake that the Nats didn't trade Sori, and he said "NO, because it is good for baseball in DC and fans will get to see a guy they are going to sign long-term, EVEN THOUGH HE WILL PROBABLY GO TO SIGN WITH THE YANKEES!!!"

As much as I would love to bring Sori back to the Bronx, I don't think the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, or any of the big-budget teams are going after him this offseason, which likely makes the Nationals (playing in market #7) the most major-market team to go after him, bringing his price down. That makes him more affordable for them.

[TEPLimey]

As much as I would love to bring Sori back to the Bronx, I don't think the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, or any of the big-budget teams are going after him this offseason, which likely makes the Nationals (playing in market #7) the most major-market team to go after him, bringing his price down. That makes him more affordable for them.

Depending on his price, acquiring Soriano would allow us to trade Cano, who we could probably flip for some great pitching.

I love Cano, but Sori is an improvement at 2B and we might be able to get a #2 starter out of the deal. If that is the case, the Yankees have an obligation to look into signing Soriano (especially if he will give the Yankees a discount to return to contenders in the Bronx rather than the floundering and drunk disaster that is the Nationals).

Granted, its all speculation because I certainly don't know what other teams would trade for Cano, but if we could get a Peavy, Oswalt, or the like out of the deal, CashMoney would have to think long and hard about it.

[Rocketman]

Soriano is not an improvement over Cano. Why? Because for the money it would take to sign an old (yes, he's older than ARod at 31) left-fielder/poor second basemen, the Yankees could acquire a top flight starter like Barry Zito in free agency. Moreover, Cano is only 23 years old and was hitting .325 before he got hurt. He's only capable of improving from here on out - particularly in the areas of plate discipline and power - as his body continues to fill out. Plus, he's better defensively and cheap.

Soriano is a no-go.

[yanksphan]

I love Cano, but Sori is an improvement at 2B

What are you basing this on?

[NelsonMuntz]

What are you basing this on?

Definitely not reality, unless he's talking exclusively about SLG.

[RhodeyYankee2638]

Olney reported that Bowden was asking the Angels for Jered Weaver and the Tigers for Verlander. While you gotta try to maxmize value, those are deals were completely out of the realm of possibility

[yanksconstantino24]

Depending on his price, acquiring Soriano would allow us to trade Cano, who we could probably flip for some great pitching.

I love Cano, but Sori is an improvement at 2B and we might be able to get a #2 starter out of the deal. If that is the case, the Yankees have an obligation to look into signing Soriano (especially if he will give the Yankees a discount to return to contenders in the Bronx rather than the floundering and drunk disaster that is the Nationals).

Granted, its all speculation because I certainly don't know what other teams would trade for Cano, but if we could get a Peavy, Oswalt, or the like out of the deal, CashMoney would have to think long and hard about it.

Soriano is not an improvement over Cano.

[TEPLimey]

What are you basing this on?

Cano is not that much better defensively than Soriano.
Soriano is much better offensively than Cano.

Granted, Soriano is making more money, but the Yanks have a lot of money coming off the books in the next 2 seasons. I am not suggesting that this is the best route. Honestly, which would you rather have:

a) Soriano at 2B, Oswalt in the rotation
b) Cano at 2B and $9-10M

If I were Cash, I would definitely think about that possibility.

[DontHateOnNumber2]

Something tells me that Soriano will get paid big to go somewhere else.

[TEPLimey]

Cano career:
.306/.331/.783
1 sb per 50.25 games
1 hr per 11.2 games

Soriano career:
.281/.325/.836
1 sb per 4.6 games
1 hr per 4.7 games

Admittedly, Soriano has more K's per AB than Cano (1K per 8.2 v. 1K per 4.8), but Soriano is definitely a better offensive player than Cano.

[TEPLimey]

Something tells me that Soriano will get paid big to go somewhere else.

I believe that too, but I just think Cash should keep his options open...

[yanksphan]

Cano is not that much better defensively than Soriano.
Soriano is much better offensively than Cano.

Granted, Soriano is making more money, but the Yanks have a lot of money coming off the books in the next 2 seasons. I am not suggesting that this is the best route. Honestly, which would you rather have:

a) Soriano at 2B, Oswalt in the rotation
b) Cano at 2B and $9-10M

If I were Cash, I would definitely think about that possibility.

Cano is WORLDS better than Sori at 2B. You must have forgotten what he was like... I love the way he works with Jeter in the DP combo, as well as how he communicates with our CFer and RFer on short pop-ups. Defense matters. Best part is - he will improve from here on out - Sori never did.

Sori may have a nicer SLG% - but overall, I take Robbie.

BTW - where does Oswalt come from? He's a FA in 2008...

[TEPLimey]

Cano is WORLDS better than Sori at 2B. You must have forgotten what he was like... I love the way he works with Jeter in the DP combo, as well as how he communicates with our CFer and RFer on short pop-ups. Defense matters. Best part is - he will improve from here on out - Sori never did.

Sori may have a nicer SLG% - but overall, I take Robbie.

BTW - where does Oswalt come from? He's a FA in 2008...

Well, since the premise of my hypothetical was that we might want to sign Soriano if we can flip Cano for a good pitcher like Oswalt, Peavy, etc. then we might want to keep that option in mind (even assuming, without agreeing, that Soriano is not an improvement over Cano).

[Yanks21]

If baseball is going to work in Washington, then they need to keep players like Soriano. The new owners are expected to put money into the ball club, and I wouldn't be surprised if they pony up a competitive offer for Soriano. If he walks, then they get two high picks in a very deep draft. Why should Bowden be forced to take crap in return? The Angels were not offering that good of a package...

[NelsonMuntz]

Cano career:
.306/.331/.783
1 sb per 50.25 games
1 hr per 11.2 games

Soriano career:
.281/.325/.836
1 sb per 4.6 games
1 hr per 4.7 games

Admittedly, Soriano has more K's per AB than Cano (1K per 8.2 v. 1K per 4.8), but Soriano is definitely a better offensive player than Cano.

All you've proven is that Soriano is a better slugger than Cano, which we already knew. Given the fact that we already have plenty of power in our lineup, he's not worth the money it will take to sign him when we have a younger, cheaper and very solid player like Cano already at 2B. Why spend money we don't have to?

[Quangormo]

Something tells me that Soriano will get paid big to go somewhere else.

Why? None of the bigger market teams than Washington fits for him, and he likes it in DC.

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060731&content_id=1585922&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was

[TEPLimey]

All you've proven is that Soriano is a better slugger than Cano, which we already knew. Given the fact that we already have plenty of power in our lineup, he's not worth the money it will take to sign him when we have a younger, cheaper and very solid player like Cano already at 2B. Why spend money we don't have to?

I've proven that, cost aside, Soriano is at minimum equivalent to Cano (much better SLG, equal OBP, significantly more SB, but more Ks and slightly worse defense).

Again, if you think about the premise, I don't see why the Yankees would hesitate taking on the extra salary (perhaps $7-8M difference between the two?) to then spin Cano and lock up an Oswalt or Peavy.

So... we not "spending money we don't have to," but are using our financial resources to allow us to trade cheaper players for SP we might not be able to acquire otherwise without losing output from position players. Are we spending more money? Sure! Are we getting an ace-type pitcher as a result? Yup.

I'm glad Cashman is not as closed minded as some people on these boards. Perhaps acquiring Abreau's salary counts as "spending money we don't have to" when we had Bernie and Guiel platooning in RF.

[flymick24]

Cano career:
.306/.331/.783
1 sb per 50.25 games
1 hr per 11.2 games

Soriano career:
.281/.325/.836
1 sb per 4.6 games
1 hr per 4.7 games

Admittedly, Soriano has more K's per AB than Cano (1K per 8.2 v. 1K per 4.8), but Soriano is definitely a better offensive player than Cano.

relative to their salary, cano is better

[RollingWave]

Soriano's first year with some serious time with the Yanks he went.

.268 /304/ .432

Cano's first

.297/.320 /.458

It's unfair to judge Cano's power at this point. we know he's not as good as a base stealer, but he's shown significant improvements in his defense games this year. something that Soriano rarely did.

I think it's safe to say that while Cano's chaces of clubbing as many HR as Sori isn't good and he will never steal as many bases. he is far less likely to outgrow 2B (aka, suck too much at defending it.) and will probably remain as one of the better 2Bs in the game for many years.

[OlgMvp]

Cano is not that much better defensively than Soriano.
Soriano is much better offensively than Cano.

Granted, Soriano is making more money, but the Yanks have a lot of money coming off the books in the next 2 seasons. I am not suggesting that this is the best route. Honestly, which would you rather have:

a) Soriano at 2B, Oswalt in the rotation
b) Cano at 2B and $9-10M

If I were Cash, I would definitely think about that possibility.

How does Oswalt come into this equation? I'm assuming you say they'd spin Cano for Oswalt? And then who do we deal for Soriano? in order to acquire BOTH of these players, you're talking about ATLEAST losing Cano, Tabata, and Hughes. That's the starting point, if you can't start there, then it's not worth discussing since NO GM would start with anything less....to me, that's a lot to sacrafice.

[LecheCaberera2826]

Do you think there is a chance we sign Oswalt in the offseason or is going to resign with the Astro's?

[CaptainThurman]

I suggest that we establish a policy immediately that prevents the Yankees from signing any N.L. pitcher -- or predominantly N.L. pitcher -- for anything other than back of the rotation or bullpen filler. The 7-man lineups of the N.L. allow the pitcher to play soft-toss with the catcher for 2-3 innings of every start, and the pressure of playing in Yankee Stadium where every pitch counts and most lineups are loaded 1 through 9, would be more than most N.L. pitchers can tolerate.

[LecheCaberera2826]

well i understand wat you are saying but hasn't Roy Oswalt shown that he can pitch in pressure, and besides all the other N.L. pitchers who shown that they can't pitch in the A.L. are wussy's and have always had stupid arm problems, not Oswalt!!!

[mrbawm]

I suggest that we establish a policy immediately that prevents the Yankees from signing any N.L. pitcher -- or predominantly N.L. pitcher -- for anything other than back of the rotation or bullpen filler. The 7-man lineups of the N.L. allow the pitcher to play soft-toss with the catcher for 2-3 innings of every start, and the pressure of playing in Yankee Stadium where every pitch counts and most lineups are loaded 1 through 9, would be more than most N.L. pitchers can tolerate.

What dominant NL pitchers have we been burned with?

[Quangormo]

I've proven that, cost aside, Soriano is at minimum equivalent to Cano (much better SLG, equal OBP, significantly more SB, but more Ks and slightly worse defense).

Again, if you think about the premise, I don't see why the Yankees would hesitate taking on the extra salary (perhaps $7-8M difference between the two?) to then spin Cano and lock up an Oswalt or Peavy.

So... we not "spending money we don't have to," but are using our financial resources to allow us to trade cheaper players for SP we might not be able to acquire otherwise without losing output from position players. Are we spending more money? Sure! Are we getting an ace-type pitcher as a result? Yup.

I'm glad Cashman is not as closed minded as some people on these boards. Perhaps acquiring Abreau's salary counts as "spending money we don't have to" when we had Bernie and Guiel platooning in RF.

That's all well and good and I agree with your analysis of Sori, but where does he fit?

[SoCal Pinstriper]

By the Numbers
0: Major league players who have recorded 40 homers, 30 steals and 20 outfield assists in a single season. Alfonso Soriano needs two homers, one stolen base and one assist to become the first.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...081701450.html

[The Comic Book Guy]

So yeah, Sori's really, really good.

It's not likely, but 50-50 is definitely a possibility

[DontHateOnNumber2]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...081701450.html

I'm sure he's got it. Lots of players have been dumb enough to test his arm out in left, and he's been gunning them down.

[PuroPapiChulo]

Sori, will resign with the nationals and be the face of the franchise for years to come. Contrary to wat everyone says, Sori is not a headcase and he isnt self-centered. He's actually very easy to hang with and he's neva had any clubhouse issues .. . in other words, he's no T.O.

Here's a pic of Sori & I on a flight from Miami a couple of years ago