Early Friday morning it was announced that the Chicago Cubs finalized a trade that would send Alfonso Soriano to the New York Yankees; after a week of rumors the trade finally went through. The Cubs will receive class A pitcher Cory Black from the Yankees and cash considerations.
Soriano started his major league career with the Yankees back in September 14, 1999, becoming a fan favorite and seeming to come through with a big hit whenever the club needed him to. We all remember the 2001 world series when he took Curt Schilling deep with a solo homer to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning of game 7.
Soriano is a seven time all star and two time world series champion, winning with the Yankees in 1999 & 2000.
In 2004 Soriano was traded from the Yankees to the Rangers in exchange for 3B Alex Rodriguez. Since then Soriano has played for the Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals & most recently the Chicago Cubs. But now in 2013 his career has gone full circle as he is back where it all began for him; wearing pin stripes.
Soriano is batting .254 with 17 home runs and 51 RBIs this season and has heated up in July, with eight homers and 16 RBIs. He's 11 hits shy of 2,000 for his career and 11 home runs short of 400.
Since June 28 the Yankees have only hit eight homeruns, while Soriano has hit 10. "We've obviously been trying to improve our offense this season, to no avail," said Yankees GM Brian Cashman. "By far, he was the best available bat to date."
The Cubs are going to pick up about $17.7 million and the Yankees will cover the remaining $6.8 million of the estimated $24.5 million Soriano is owed through the end of next season. Soriano is scheduled to make $18 million next season, $5 million of which will be paid by the Yankees.
It is reported that Soriano is close friends with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Robinson Cano, so coming back to the Bronx should be like a homecoming. The Yankees have Soriano in Friday's lineup, where he is batting fourth and playing left field. I assume he will get a standing ovation as most Yankee fans are thrilled to have him back on the team.
