Soriano trade

[gr8mexico]

Alfonso Soriano has been traded to the Nationals for Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge and a player to be named, ESPNews reports.
We're not sure this really works for either team. If Soriano plays left field or center, he could be a downgrade from Wilkerson, especially when it's factored in that he'll make $10 million or so in arbitration. If he plays second base, then what happens with Jose Vidro? The Rangers plug Wilkerson into right field at the moment, with David Dellucci going back to DH. Kevin Mench could be traded for a pitcher or second baseman, opening up playing time for Sledge. Good value for the Rangers, but it doesn't really fill their needs. Let's see what they do next. Dec. 7 - 11:23 pm et

[Optipessimism]

Wow. And why did the Nats do that again?

I think Wilkerson is going to bust out soon although the Nats obviously didn't want to wait. Soriano surprises me though. Then again, if I were GM of any of the 30 teams in baseball I'd have no interest in Soriano. IMO he is best off hitting towards the bottom of the lineup as a DH, but you don't put a 10M DH at the bottom of the order. Yuck. While they're at it, they should trade Livan Hernandez to us for Joe Borchard, Willie Harris, and all of Thome's contract (but not Thome).

[34 Inch Stick]

Glad to see the Rangers have finally decided to focus on pitching.

[MHOUSE]

Without Rogers, I think the Rangers only returning starter is rookie Chris Young. Maybe Ricardo Rodriguez or something, but they certainly haven't improved in that area yet. Wilkerson is going to be a good player, but Soriano is guaranteed offense and they struggled a lot last year. I wonder how RFK withh treat Soriano.