NEWSLETTER
Alfonso Soriano understands that the Chicago Cubs aren’t likely to be competitive in 2013, and he also understands that they’re building for the future by trading guys like Soriano. He may or may not like it, but it’s been clear in everything he’s said that he understands it.
When discussing the possibility of a trade earlier this year, Soriano indicated that he wouldn’t be willing to waive his no-trade rights until he’d at least given the Cubs a fair shake to come out of the gate and surprise. If he was going to win in the twilight of his career, he wanted it to be with the Cubs. I have no problem with that, and think it’s pretty cool.
But the Cubs are now 10 games under .500 with June fast approaching. Is it time to start thinking about a trade? It kind of sounds like Soriano is there.
“Sometimes, you just think too much,” Soriano told Cubs.com of a recent loss to the Pirates in which the Cubs held an early lead behind a great Matt Garza start, only to lose the game late. “I get frustrated when you see that happen, because I’m tired of losing. I don’t want to be on a losing team and have a bad record.”
“One day at a time, today’s another day, and do the best I can to win today and I’ll be fine,” Soriano later continued. “I’m happy when we win. When we lose, no matter how we lose, I’ll be [ticked off]. I understand we won’t win 162 games, but we have a good team and are good enough to have a better record than we have now. That’s what makes me frustrated.”
I’d think it fair that Soriano could only suffer so much more frustration before he decides it’s time to open up to the opportunity to land on a winner for a couple more seasons. He has the right to be choosey, though, and the Cubs will probably have to work hard (and eat a whole lot of salary) if they want to move him before the Trade Deadline. So far, Soriano isn’t helping much: although he’s shown good health and spry legs, he’s hitting just .263/.293/.401.
If he’s frustrated with the state of things with the Cubs, and if he’s slowly accepting that a trade is inevitable, he could help out his own options by picking it up at the plate a bit.
However it plays out, and wherever Soriano lands, I suspect he’ll have a lot of Cubs fans cheering for him from afar. I’d like to see him do well somewhere if it isn’t going to be with the Cubs.
