It surprises the heck out of me, but the trade deadline has passed, and Alfonso Soriano is still playing for the Washington Nationals:
SAN FRANCISCO, July 31 — Despite a flurry of activity and late bids by several teams, Monday’s trade deadline passed — and, in an upset, Alfonso Soriano is still a Washington National.
Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden and team president Stan Kasten said that while they talked to “nearly every team” on the last day of the non-waiver trade period, they did not find an offer that they felt was fair return for Soriano, the club’s only All-Star this season. By doing so, they risk losing Soriano to free agency in the offseason.
I thought for sure the Nats would make a deal for Soriano now rather than risk being left out in the cold at the end of the season when his contract is up and they get outbid by someone like the Yankees or Red Sox. And Soriano is likely to carry a high price tag when he enters free agency:
Once he reaches free agency, Soriano is likely to earn a four- or five-year deal worth anywhere from $12-15 million annually on the open market.
Soriano says he’d like to stay in Washington when his contract is up, but, as the saying goes, money talks.
[...] The Washington Nationals may be regretting not trading away Alfonso Soriano when they had the chance, because now he’s signed a multi-year deal with the Cubs and they’ve got nothing to show for it: That slugger Alfonso Soriano is leaving the Washington Nationals is hardly a shock, given the club’s long-term vision of rebuilding a winner through its farm system and Soriano’s status as the most electric free agent on the market. [...]