Anno Catuli
World Series Dreaming
- Joined:
- Jun 3, 2011
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With tomorrow being the official Non-Waiver Trade Deadline, today will be the last blog on those players who should be traded. I know that everyone not named Starlin Castro on the Chicago Cubs should be up for grabs to anyone and everyone who has even the slightest bit of interest, but I am limited things to the top five on my wish list. So far, only one of the five players have been traded, that being Kosuke Fukudome, but that is a start. Whether or not the other four can be moved before the deadline remains to be seen, though that would be highly doubtful and we would be lucky to see even one more get moved before hand. But, let’s move on anyway.
The final player that I will talk about, is likely the most hated player in Cub history. If he is not the most hated, he is easily in the top 10. Most of the hatred comes from the size of the contract that former Cubs President John McDonough signed him to, which made him vastly over paid. The rest comes from the thought that he is lazy and has lost his love of the game and is now just out there collecting a paycheck. People also love calling him out for his lack of hustle, and his lollygagging when running the bases. What they seem to forget is that his legs are shot. Anyone remember why his legs are shot? Because he was busting his ass from first to third back in 2007. But why bring up the past, fans believe what they want to believe.
Whether or not he has lost his love of the game, I can not say because who can really tell us what he is feeling or thinking? Regardless of why you dislike him, or perhaps you don’t, calls for him to be traded or even cut have been voiced for years.
Unfortunately, because of his massive contract, the likelihood of his being traded or cut is nonexistent. Not counting what he is owed for the rest of this season, Soriano has a grand total of $54 Million remaining on his deal through 2014. If the Cubs want to trade him, expect them to pick up the tab and eat at least $40 Million, if not the whole package. Granted doing so would clear a roster space which would allow them to insert yet another young kid to see what they are able to do for the ball club. What would not happen, which seems to be a misconception among the general fan base, is freeing up money. Trading him and eating a good percentage of that deal, or cutting him, takes money off the top of the payroll. That is money already spent, which can not be spent on another player. Some fans seem to think that by cutting him, the Cubs would have been able to take the money they would have been paying Soriano to sign a pitcher or another position player to help the team in the future. Unfortunately baseball contracts do not work that way, this is not football where contracts are not guaranteed. I wish they were, but that will never be the case.
Knowing that about the contract, I still say do whatever you need to do in order to trade (not cut) Soriano. Cutting him would be completely counter productive to helping the team, because he is still a valuable asset to the team and is still productive, even if his production has rapidly fallen off since 2008. Whether or not you are willing to admit to the truth, Soriano is still the best option the Cubs have in left field. Yes he is better than Tony Campana and Reed Johnson whether you want to believe me or not, there can be no argument. Unlike the previous two, he still has the power to knock out 20+ home runs. With the other two, you might get 10 combined, and that is with getting no power out of Campana who I don’t think has even gotten a ball out of the infield yet, and most of his hits don’t even get past the pitcher.
What replacing him with one of those two does do though, is give you better defense, at least with Johnson who has both the range and arm to play a decent defense. But with his back issues, you never know how long you can depend on him to play on consecutive days. Campana, on the other hand, might have good range and can get to most fly balls, but his arm might very well be the worst in the majors, and you can not have a weak arm roaming the outfield.
If the Cubs are able to trade him, and get are able to even save five cents on the dollar, then they need to do so immediately. If they are able to, then by all means play the scrappy Campana and see what he can actually do when given full playing time at the major leagues. Personally, until he is able to bulk up enough to get the ball into the outfield on occasion, I do not think he will ever be more than a fifth outfielder who is used primarily as a pinch runner.
But bottom line, do what needs to be done in order to trade Soriano. Not so much to save money, because you will not save more than a fistful of dollars, but to clear the roster spot.
The final player that I will talk about, is likely the most hated player in Cub history. If he is not the most hated, he is easily in the top 10. Most of the hatred comes from the size of the contract that former Cubs President John McDonough signed him to, which made him vastly over paid. The rest comes from the thought that he is lazy and has lost his love of the game and is now just out there collecting a paycheck. People also love calling him out for his lack of hustle, and his lollygagging when running the bases. What they seem to forget is that his legs are shot. Anyone remember why his legs are shot? Because he was busting his ass from first to third back in 2007. But why bring up the past, fans believe what they want to believe.
Whether or not he has lost his love of the game, I can not say because who can really tell us what he is feeling or thinking? Regardless of why you dislike him, or perhaps you don’t, calls for him to be traded or even cut have been voiced for years.
Unfortunately, because of his massive contract, the likelihood of his being traded or cut is nonexistent. Not counting what he is owed for the rest of this season, Soriano has a grand total of $54 Million remaining on his deal through 2014. If the Cubs want to trade him, expect them to pick up the tab and eat at least $40 Million, if not the whole package. Granted doing so would clear a roster space which would allow them to insert yet another young kid to see what they are able to do for the ball club. What would not happen, which seems to be a misconception among the general fan base, is freeing up money. Trading him and eating a good percentage of that deal, or cutting him, takes money off the top of the payroll. That is money already spent, which can not be spent on another player. Some fans seem to think that by cutting him, the Cubs would have been able to take the money they would have been paying Soriano to sign a pitcher or another position player to help the team in the future. Unfortunately baseball contracts do not work that way, this is not football where contracts are not guaranteed. I wish they were, but that will never be the case.
Knowing that about the contract, I still say do whatever you need to do in order to trade (not cut) Soriano. Cutting him would be completely counter productive to helping the team, because he is still a valuable asset to the team and is still productive, even if his production has rapidly fallen off since 2008. Whether or not you are willing to admit to the truth, Soriano is still the best option the Cubs have in left field. Yes he is better than Tony Campana and Reed Johnson whether you want to believe me or not, there can be no argument. Unlike the previous two, he still has the power to knock out 20+ home runs. With the other two, you might get 10 combined, and that is with getting no power out of Campana who I don’t think has even gotten a ball out of the infield yet, and most of his hits don’t even get past the pitcher.
What replacing him with one of those two does do though, is give you better defense, at least with Johnson who has both the range and arm to play a decent defense. But with his back issues, you never know how long you can depend on him to play on consecutive days. Campana, on the other hand, might have good range and can get to most fly balls, but his arm might very well be the worst in the majors, and you can not have a weak arm roaming the outfield.
If the Cubs are able to trade him, and get are able to even save five cents on the dollar, then they need to do so immediately. If they are able to, then by all means play the scrappy Campana and see what he can actually do when given full playing time at the major leagues. Personally, until he is able to bulk up enough to get the ball into the outfield on occasion, I do not think he will ever be more than a fifth outfielder who is used primarily as a pinch runner.
But bottom line, do what needs to be done in order to trade Soriano. Not so much to save money, because you will not save more than a fistful of dollars, but to clear the roster spot.
