It?s a rumor I heard last week that, at first, seemed a little off the wall. If not for the individual I heard it from, I would have laughed. The Orioles plan on being major players in the pursuit of pending free agent Alfonso Soriano.
I know, it sounds a little on the fantastic side. However, given that the Orioles? two most pressing needs are left field and first base, maybe a run at the Nationals? all-star left fielder has real legs. Soriano?s adjustment to National League pitching took about 10 minutes, and he?s on his way to a 40-40 season, something never before seen in Birdland.
The Fonz is earning $10 million this season and would figure to command something along the lines of five years, $70-plus million on the open market. He would instantly become the highest-paid Oriole, and you?d have to wonder what effect that would have on the incumbent superstar, Miguel Tejada. We?ve heard he?s already a little ticked off that the Dodgers gave Rafael Furcal three years and $39 million last winter, a seasonal average of $1 million more than Tejada earns here.
Judging by his season in Washington so far, Soriano looks like the perfect Oriole: a solid work ethic, unfailingly cheerful and undeniable talent. He runs out routine groundballs. The spring training drama over whether he?d shift to left field from second base turned out to be a tempest in a teacup.
He made the switch and is currently leading all major league outfielders in assists. That distinction may be a little misleading, inasmuch as several of those assists came early when some baserunners opted to challenge his inexperience in left. A strong and accurate throwing arm eventually discouraged many others from taking the chance.
Last winter, the Orioles offered then-free agent Paul Konerko of the world champion White Sox a similar package to the one he eventually took to stay in Chicago. It may have been worth slightly more than that, but he stayed put nonetheless.
The skeptic in me said that the Orioles? offer was window dressing, that they knew up front he wouldn?t take it, but that it would make them look like players to their fans. It hardly matters now, but they must know that they?re going to have to seriously overpay any premier free agent in order to entice them to sign. This offseason, there?s no bigger name than Soriano, and if he doesn?t stay with the Nationals ? who believe they can keep him ? one would assume he?d head for a contender.
Because he broke in with the Yankees and still has many close friends on their roster, there?s one school of thought that has him headed back there at his first opportunity. In New York, however, he?d be lower in the pecking order than he?d be here or in D.C. Maybe he doesn?t care about that, but he?d be one of the few in baseball who didn?t.
This fall and winter are critical for the Orioles. Signing a major free agent ? be it Soriano or someone else ? would go a long way toward re-establishing credibility with the fan base.
Phil Wood has covered sports in the Washington-Baltimore market for more than 30 years. You can reach him at [email protected].
