Theo Epstein doesn’t want it. Maybe Dan Duquette will.
According to the Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rogers, the Cubs are willing to pay the “bulk” of the $54 milion that Alfonso Soriano is owed over the next three years in order to send him to Baltimore. It’d be the same journey once taken by another well-compensated Cubs outfielder: Sammy Sosa was traded to Baltimore in Feb. 2005 for Jerry Hairston Jr. and Mike Fontenot, with the Cubs kicking in part of the $17 million he was owed.
Soriano hit .244/.289/.469 with 26 homers and 88 RBI in 475 at-bats for the Cubs last season. He was better in 2010 but worse in 2009, and he hasn’t played in more than 147 games in any of his five years with the Cubs. It’s hard to imagine the Orioles would take him on as anything more than a $4 million-$5 million per year player, but even if the Cubs have to pay $35 million-$40 million of Soriano’s remaining salary, it could well be worth it just for the chance to move on.
