Derek Jeter and Alfonso Soriano were once considered the Yankees’ double-play combination of the future. The way it’s looking, the pair might just be reunited after a decade apart.
According to a source, the Yankees and Cubs are discussing a deal that would send Soriano — now an outfielder — back to the Bronx, where he started his career in 1999. Soriano, 37, would likely take over in left field, shifting Vernon Wells to a DH/backup role.
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“Everybody knows how I feel about Sori,” Jeter said of Soriano, who was dealt to Texas in February of 2004 in the trade that brought Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees. “I’ve said it when we traded for Al, he’s someone that you develop a relationship with, and you miss them when they leave. We had a great relationship.”
Jeter detests speaking about hypothetical scenarios, so he balked at a question about what Soriano would bring to the Yankees lineup. Still, it was clear that the Captain has good feelings about his former — and possibly future — teammate.
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“I enjoyed playing with Sori, but I don’t know what our team is doing or not doing,” Jeter said. “Sori did a lot when he was here. He was pretty exciting. What did he, come one home run short of 40-40? I remember all of us pulling for him the last week, which I’m sure probably cost him doing it because he may have been trying to do it. Those are things that not many players do.”
In exchange for Soriano, the Yankees would send a mid-level prospect to the Cubs, who have become hot sellers as the trade deadline approaches. Chicago dealt righthander Matt Garza to the Rangers on Monday. No deal was in place as of Tuesday, although the two sides were still in negotiations, the source said.
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Soriano has a no-trade clause in his contract, but he is expected to waive it for a deal to the Bronx. The Cubs would likely pick up a majority of the $24 million still owed to Soriano through next season, with most of it going toward his $18 million salary for 2014. The Yankees took the same approach in acquiring Wells from the Angels during spring training, helping them in their quest to remain beneath the $189 million luxury-tax threshold in 2014.
Entering Tuesday, Soriano was hitting .256/.286/.471 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI in 92 games this season, and although those numbers are hardly overwhelming, his home run and RBI totals would be second on the Yankees behind Robinson Cano while his .756 OPS would rank third behind Cano and Brett Gardner.
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“He would immediately become their best righthanded hitter,” one baseball official said.
Soriano played three full seasons with the Yankees from 2001-03, averaging 32 home runs, 89 RBI and 40 stolen bases. “He’s been a productive player over his career, there’s no doubt about it,” Joe Girardi said. “He’s been an exciting player, a guy that could steal 40 bases, a guy that could hit 40 home runs. He’s been a good player.”
Soriano told MLB.com he was surprised by the news of the trade talks Tuesday, adding that he had not yet been asked by the Cubs to waive his no-trade clause. “I just focus, play baseball, play the game today,” Soriano said. “If it happens, if I’m getting closer, I’ll think about it. Now, there’s nothing there. If the president and the GM don’t call my agent, it’s because nothing happened, nothing’s close. If it gets close, I want time to think about it. Now, there’s nothing to think about.”
Asked about the idea of returning to the Yankees, Soriano certainly didn’t sound like he would object to that possibility.
“That’s my first organization, and I enjoyed my time with the Yankees,” Soriano said. “They have a very good team. They are the Yankees. They always make the playoffs, no matter what team they have, no matter what pitching they’ve got. They always find a way.”
