Alfonso Soriano may be the future for the Washington Nationals whether the outfielder’s here or not.
The Nats are playing for the future given they’re 10 games back on Memorial Day. The playoffs are a long shot. Even .500 may be a stretch.
The stadium seems half empty many games. The hitting sometimes appears thinner than Michael O’Connor. The manager is crying.
It’s a tricky time for the Nats. They could blow up the roster for prospects, but that’s really condemning the team to a terrible season. Fans around here won’t pay big money to watch a minor league club when they can go to Bowie, Frederick and Woodbridge and see just that for a few dollars. There’s always the Orioles, though Baltimore isn’t much to watch.
Washington could trade a few veterans in hopes of staying competitive while building for the future. That’s the more probable plan. Just dangle Soriano along with pitcher Livan Hernandez as trade bait and hope you snag a real fish. Really, you could offer anyone outside third baseman Ryan Zimmerman if need be to upgrade.
But Soriano is the one everybody wants. The Nats even held “Scout Day” on Sunday, though those guys seemed awfully short and wore the same uniform to be opposing major league scouts.
The Nats have some time to decide, but it’s a hard choice. They can trade Soriano for prospects in hopes one pans out into half the player Soriano is or take a chance and hold on to him and pray the free agent re-signs.
Fortunately, his trade value can only go up as the season continues. A team desperate for a power hitter to stay in the playoff race might overpay as the July 31 trade deadline nears. Meanwhile, the Nats incoming owners have time to negotiate a contract extension beforehand to learn whether Soriano wants to stay.
Soriano wants to play second base. He has progressed well as a left fielder, but still made an error against Los Angeles on Sunday and nearly dropped a second fly ball. However, the Nats already have a standout second baseman in Jose Vidro, whose .343 batting average leads the National League. Nothing is going to change. Either Soriano accepts it and re-signs or heads to a team willing to play him at second.
It’s easy to say Soriano should be traded because the team is going nowhere. Then again, the Nats have to keep fickle Washington fans interested until August when the Redskins open training camp. The recent 7-3 home stand shows the Nats can be competitive despite widespread injuries. Trading away key veterans risks giving up on the season and the fans giving up on the team.
Soriano is team’s best player, the reason you don’t want to be late to the game like thousands were on Sunday given he’s the leadoff hitter. Soriano’s 18 home runs — including a titanic blast in the fourth inning Sunday — have him on pace to become Washington’s greatest single-season home run hitter. Soriano’s homer every 11.4 at bats exceeds Frank Howard’s career best 12.3 in 1969 when belting 48 and Harmon Killebrew’s 13 percent when blasting 42 in 1959.
Soriano is on pace for 50 homers and 100 RBI. You want to build around him rather than revel in a wondrous half season. But if Soriano’s intent on leaving, the Nats really have no choice but to deal. They should get a fair current major leaguer plus two Class AAA prospects and other considerations. We’re talking some organization’s best pitching prospect as an automatic inclusion.
The fair thing is to hold off on a clearance sale until late July. That way, fans are given more than a half season with the best the team can muster before looking to next year. Owner Ted Lerner and president Stan Kasten will be in control by then for contract talks with Soriano.
Meanwhile, just enjoy watching the games. Remember just a year ago when going to the ballpark was enough in itself. Have a beer and a dog and explain the game to your kids. If the Nats aren’t going to contend, at least make it fun.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
