What Should The Cubs Do With Alfonso Soriano?

Alfonso Soriano Has Got To Go!

Considering all that has happened since, it would be easy to blame Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry for the ill-advised signing of outfielder Alfonso Soriano in the winter of 2006. In the three-plus seasons since, Soriano has hit 83 home runs. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that he has missed over 120 games due to injury, has seen his fielding decline precipitously with each passing season, and has been slotted in as the most handsomely paid sixth hitter in the history of baseball. Cubs fans booed him heartily at the team’s home opener, and resent his seeming nonchalance over what is quickly becoming indefensible defense.

In fairness to Hendry, 2006 made Soriano look mighty appealing. No, he did not draw walks, even then. But his combination of power, speed and pure hitting skill made him a valuable Jimmy Rollins-like option as a leadoff hitter, and his surprisingly strong arm in left field made him a valuable fielder, as well. In 2007, he not only ratcheted up his cannon arm, but displayed great range. Thereafter, however, he collapsed into mistake-prone misery with the glove.

Because of that defense, which shows no sign of improvement in 2010—Soriano has one error and a handful of ugly gaffes that don’t show up in standard defensive metrics—and now costs the Cubs roughly one game per year in runs lost as a fielder alone, and because of his unmitigated aggressiveness at the plate, the 34-year-old Soriano is not a candidate for recovery. He simply isn’t going to figure it out. New hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo has shortened Soriano’s swing, lowering his hands as he stands in the box and tightening his follow-through. That may facilitate some upswing in raw numbers, especially batting average and home runs.

What it cannot do, however, is teach Soriano plate discipline. An historic free swinger for years, Soriano has seven strikeouts and no walks this season in 25 plate appearances. In none of his seasons in Chicago has he swung at fewer than 37 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, according to FanGraphs. For perspective, the league average is around 25 percent. Combine that with the fact that Soriano sees fewer pitches in the zone than average, and you have a guy who swings at 145 more would-be balls each year than the average Major League hitter would in the same amount of playing time. In other words, the average guy would walk 35 more times in as many plate appearances, and make many fewer outs by not chasing bad pitches.

Soriano still has a modicum of power and speed—he did finish second on the Cubs with 20 gopher balls last season, and has 47 stolen bases in 58 attempts as a Cub, a very respectable efficiency rate. But the simple fact is that if Chicago is going to invest in a toolsy hitter with little plate discipline, they are better-served to do so with left-handed hitter and 2006 first-round pick Tyler Colvin, who plays far superior defense to Soriano.

It will hurt, getting rid of Soriano. Even if the Cubs are able to unload him on some American League club desperate for a designated hitter, they will have to eat the bulk of the five years and $90 million left on Soriano’s deal, and won’t get much back. If they release him, they have to pay him all but the Major League minimum salary, even if someone else signs him, for the duration of the contract.

But at some point, the deadweight loss of having Soriano’s miserable glove and impatient stick holding them back, and creating a logjam in the talented outfield, outweighs the humiliation of paying $18 million a year for a blank spot on the roster. Dispensing with Soriano could also pave the way for Ryan Theriot—the best defensive shortstop on balls in the air since the start of 2007—to move into a utility role as a middle infielder and outfield reserve when shortstop phenom Starlin Castro is ready to take over at short. It also helps clear the way for the eventual arrival of 2009 first-round selection and high-caliber prospect Brett Jackson in the outfield at the Friendly Confines.

In the meantime, removing him would lift a huge cloud from the team’s clubhouse: although liked and respected by teammates, Soriano has become a distraction due to the negative attention constantly flowing his way. The divorce, though messy, would be best for both sides.

Matt Trueblood

Alfonso Soriano Has Got To Go! April 13, 2010 – Matt Trueblood Considering all that has happened since, it would be easy to blame Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry for the ill-advised signing of outfielder Alfonso Soriano in the winter of 2006. In the three-plus seasons since, Soriano has hit 83 home runs. That’s the [...]