May 24, 2013

Rosenthal: “What about Soriano to the Indians?”

June 12, 2012 by 19 Comments

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal wrote today about possible MLB trades, and brought up an interesting proposal for the Indians-

“JUST A THOUGHT … And let’s be clear, this is my speculation only. But what about the Cubs’ Soriano to the Indians?

No NL team will want the defensively challenged Soriano, but the guy can still hit. In fact, he leads the majors with 12 homers since May 15 after hitting none in his first 30 games. The Indians struggle mightily against left-handed pitching, and Soriano could be a relatively inexpensive solution. The Cubs know that to move Soriano, they will need to pay the bulk of his remaining obligation — about $42 million through 2014.

Indians skipper Manny Acta managed Soriano for the Dominican Republic’s entry in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Indians DH Travis Hafner is in the final year of his contract; his deal includes a $2.75 million buyout on a $13 million option for 2013.”

Adding further intrigue, Rosenthal went on to say that rival executives expect the Indians to be aggressive-

“Rival teams expect the Indians to be aggressive; remember, the Tribe acquired right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez last summer to take advantage of a window that likely will remain open through next season, after which right fielder Shin-Soo Choo will be a free agent.

The Indians surely would prefer a more consistent, better-rounded player than Soriano. But the Cubs left fielder has a career .866 OPS against left-handers, and an .834 OPS against them this season.”

Would this be a move Cleveland fans could get behind?

[Related: OF Jeff Francoeur available]

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  • Aling2326

    Sounds like a solid move to fill the DH role to me… BTW, His defense cant get much worse than Damon’s in LF…

  • dwhit110

    I’ll admit to not watching much National League Baseball, but how badly could Soriano’s defense really hurt in LF? Gotta agree with the above that it’s tough to imagine him being worse than Damon out there.

  • Karsten Treu

    Damon has been decent defensively… minus the arm, he’s made  a couple sick grabs and robbed a dinger. But Soriano has power from the right side, and could mostly DH. I’d take the guy, if we can dodge most of the cost.

  • Harv 21

    wonder how much of that $42m Cubs would pick up? Because that would be great, as Soriano in the lineup could protect Haf, who would in turn protect Santana. Gives you 4 very reliable bats, Choo, Kipnis, Cabrera, Soriano. If Brantley keep going, and Haf keeps doing what he’s done so far, the pressure will be off Chiz and maybe he’ll get off.

    Defensively the OF would be clearly sub-par, but as everyone else is pointing out, no worse than now. 

  • mgbode

    the amount they pickup likely depends on the level of prospect we give them.

  • mgbode

    “Rival teams expect the Indians to be aggressive”

    while most locals are waiting for the other shoe to drop

  • Hermie13

    Cant see the Tribe taking on more than $5M total no matter what specs they give up…

  • Nick

    I attended a Cubs-White Sox game when I lived in Chicago, and watched as Soriano held conversations, gave the DeGeneration X “Suck it” gesture and more while facing us in the bleachers, while the game was going on. Twice the ball was hit in his direction and he had to hurriedly turn and locate it to make a play. Soriano is not bad at defense, he is just ambivalent towards it.

  • Sda4124

     LOL now that mirrors my thoughts exactly

  • mgbode

    you mean per year, right?  he’s signed through 2014

  • Harv 21

    In contrast, LaPorta is mature and focused but, apparently, both a defensive and offensive liability. And Duncan is Duncan. I’ll take the stick, and take my chances since there are no crowds here to distract him. :-)

  • Hermie13

    Soriano has been brought up before as a target (this winter actually). Just too many years left. Would be absolute worst case scenario IMO.

  • Hermie13

    No, i mean total. The Cubs are gonna find it nearly impossible to move a guy as old as Soriano (and as bad) with that much time left in his deal.

    From 2009 to 2011 Soriano poated bWARs of -1.8, 0.6, and -0.3. His OBPs in that time were .303, .322, and .289.

    He is not much better than Matt LaPorta really who posted bWARs if 0.4, -0.6, and -0.9 in that same time and OBPs of .308, .306, and .299.

    Sure Soriano has hit for more power but not a ton more when you consider the at-bat and consistent playing time difference.

    Soriano is hot now but 3 years of terrible play prior makes him a big time risk.

    Also, not saying i want LaPorta playing, just pointing out how bad Soriano has been and why he isnt worth more than a couple Mil a year to the tribe.

  • Hermie13

    No, Soriano is terrible defensively.

  • Mad24dog24

     What about Vlad who just got release by the Blue Jays?

  • mgbode

    I am not a fan of Soriano and am hoping that we do not trade for him, but he is worth more than $2mil/year (which is what $5mil for 2.5 seasons works out to).

    his numbers this season are nearly identical to 2010.  they are not great, but they are at a spot of need and, well, he’s better than Slowey :)

    if the Cubs “gave” him to us for $5mil, then I’m not comfortable with the prospects we’d likely have to give back to them.

  • Hermie13

    I’d be comfortable with the crap prospects we’d give up dor Soriano if we agreed to take on $5M if that terrible contract…

    But we’ll see…i am guessing we’d give up less than what we gave up for Fukudome last year (even if the Cubs ate all but $5M).

    Then again, probably a moot point.

  • Hermie13

    I’d rather give laporta a shot but Vlad could DH while hafner is out

  • AlexMathews

    I’d make that trade and give up Brantley as well, if the Cubs do in fact take on most of Soriano’s contract.