I would not have believed it had there not been so many reputable sources reporting it, but Alfonso Soriano, formerly of the Washington Nationals, is all but signed to an 8 year, $135 MILLION dollar contract with the Chicago Cubs. Pending the outcome of a physical examination, this will be a done deal.
It was only a week or so ago that Buster Olney was on XM175 stating how he thought that, with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, all teams would be flush with cash and would be spending lavishly on players. Apparently the Cubs heard him, because those in the know think that this deal exceeds even the richest optimism.
In any case, this concludes the Soriano Watch at this blog. The Washington Nationals will be rebuilding their farm system for years to come and will be focusing on player development in the Caribbean and Japan, as well as domestically. Big-time free agents will not be the order of the day in this regime, particulary if one reads between the lines of what Stan Kasten says when speaking about the future direction of the Nationals. The Nationals will likely be bringing up players through their own system and trading for other young talent as their own players become too costly to keep. Now, I'm not calling him cheap...shrewd, efficient, effective maybe?
Here are the links as of Sunday evening with the news:
MLB.com By Carrie Muskat
Chicago Tribune sports page by Paul Sullivan
Nationals Farm Authority analyzes the trade better than I could ever hope to
Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post writes up his views
Federal Baseball chimes in with his analysis of Soriano's performance
Sons of Sam Horn (remember him?) on salary inflation in general, based on Soriano's contract
Adios! y vaya con dios!
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