CHICAGO -- Memo to the National League. The Chicago Cubs mean business.
The team without a World Series title since 1908 has tackled the offseason with a fury and is on the verge of landing Alfonso Soriano, one of the game's top offensive players.
Soriano has agreed to an eight-year contract worth about $136 million, multiple media outlets reported on Sunday.
The deal is contingent on Soriano passing a physical, a major league official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced, told The Associated Press.
General manager Jim Hendry declined comment Sunday. But earlier he made it clear that the Cubs, who finished 66-96 last season for last place in the NL, were going to be major players in the market.
"We won 66 ballgames. We darn sure better be aggressive," Hendry said.
If completed, the Soriano deal would be the fifth-largest total package given to a major league player, behind Alex Rodriguez ($252 million for 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million for 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million for eight years) and Todd Helton ($141.5 million for 11 years).
"He likes the leadoff spot and there is none better," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said in an interview with WGN Radio. He called Soriano "a young man who can get on base and steal some bases and hit the ball for extra base power and hit it for a homer. We are talking about the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball."
Soriano, who might be considered to play center field and give the Cubs a leadoff hitter with a combination of speed and power, had 46 homers and 41 stolen bases last season with the Washington Nationals. He batted .277, had 95 RBI and had 41 doubles.
"We wish Alfonso nothing but success, and we congratulate him on his contract," Nationals general manager Jim Bowden told the Washington Post on Sunday night. "We just did not feel it was in the best interest of the team to go that many years and that many dollars. We felt those dollars were better utilized in other ways."
The Post's source indicated that the Cubs did something the Nationals would not do: grant Soriano a no-trade clause.
Landing Soriano would be the biggest in a series of moves for Hendry.
After hiring Lou Piniella as its new manager, Chicago re-signed third baseman Aramis Ramirez to a five-year, $75 million deal. The Cubs also added second baseman Mark DeRosa ($13 million over three years) and re-signed pitcher Kerry Wood ($1.75 million), pitcher Wade Miller (1.5 million) and backup catcher Henry Blanco ($5.25 million over two years).
The Cubs also acquired lefty reliever Neal Cotts in a trade with the White Sox. Chicago has been looking for a center fielder after Juan Pierre filed for free agency.
All this activity comes as the team's parent company, Tribune Co., is weighing options to sell all or some of its holdings, according to published reports.
And the Cubs may not be through. They've made no secret they'd like to bolster their starting rotation behind ace Carlos Zambrano, especially with the health of Mark Prior still a question mark.
But offensively, the addition of Soriano would give Chicago the punch that could make the Cubs contenders in the NL Central as he joins a lineup that includes Ramirez and Derrek Lee in homer-friendly Wrigley Field.
"In that ballpark and in that city, they should be very excited," New York Mets bench coach Jerry Manuel said while attending the Spurs-Kings NBA game in Sacramento. "Because of the lack of pitching in our industry, if there is a lack in this area you have to load up on the other side -- and people are going to load up on offense. He's a tremendous player."
Primarily a second baseman during a career that began with the New York Yankees in 1999, the 30-year-old Soriano made the switch to left field last season, his first and only one in Washington.
Soriano played his first five seasons in New York and then was traded to the Texas Rangers in the 2004 deal that brought Rodriguez to the Yankees. Soriano was dealt again two seasons later to the Nationals in a trade that sent outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge plus a minor league pitcher to the Rangers.
When he joined the Nationals, Soriano was switched to the outfield because Washington already had Jose Vidro at second. It was a move Soriano initially rejected. But gradually he became comfortable with the switch and made an All-Star team for the fifth straight season, this time at his new position. Soriano even led the league with 22 outfield assists.
Soriano is a .280 career hitter with 208 homers and 560 RBI. He made $10 million last season after losing in salary arbitration. He asked for $12 million.
In 2006, he became the fourth player to record 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. Jose Canseco (Oakland 1988), Barry Bonds (San Francisco 1996) and Rodriguez (Seattle 1998) are the other members of the 40-40 club.
The team without a World Series title since 1908 has tackled the offseason with a fury and is on the verge of landing Alfonso Soriano, one of the game's top offensive players.
Soriano has agreed to an eight-year contract worth about $136 million, multiple media outlets reported on Sunday.
The deal is contingent on Soriano passing a physical, a major league official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced, told The Associated Press.
General manager Jim Hendry declined comment Sunday. But earlier he made it clear that the Cubs, who finished 66-96 last season for last place in the NL, were going to be major players in the market.
"We won 66 ballgames. We darn sure better be aggressive," Hendry said.
If completed, the Soriano deal would be the fifth-largest total package given to a major league player, behind Alex Rodriguez ($252 million for 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million for 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million for eight years) and Todd Helton ($141.5 million for 11 years).
"He likes the leadoff spot and there is none better," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said in an interview with WGN Radio. He called Soriano "a young man who can get on base and steal some bases and hit the ball for extra base power and hit it for a homer. We are talking about the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball."
Soriano, who might be considered to play center field and give the Cubs a leadoff hitter with a combination of speed and power, had 46 homers and 41 stolen bases last season with the Washington Nationals. He batted .277, had 95 RBI and had 41 doubles.
"We wish Alfonso nothing but success, and we congratulate him on his contract," Nationals general manager Jim Bowden told the Washington Post on Sunday night. "We just did not feel it was in the best interest of the team to go that many years and that many dollars. We felt those dollars were better utilized in other ways."
The Post's source indicated that the Cubs did something the Nationals would not do: grant Soriano a no-trade clause.
Landing Soriano would be the biggest in a series of moves for Hendry.
After hiring Lou Piniella as its new manager, Chicago re-signed third baseman Aramis Ramirez to a five-year, $75 million deal. The Cubs also added second baseman Mark DeRosa ($13 million over three years) and re-signed pitcher Kerry Wood ($1.75 million), pitcher Wade Miller (1.5 million) and backup catcher Henry Blanco ($5.25 million over two years).
The Cubs also acquired lefty reliever Neal Cotts in a trade with the White Sox. Chicago has been looking for a center fielder after Juan Pierre filed for free agency.
All this activity comes as the team's parent company, Tribune Co., is weighing options to sell all or some of its holdings, according to published reports.
And the Cubs may not be through. They've made no secret they'd like to bolster their starting rotation behind ace Carlos Zambrano, especially with the health of Mark Prior still a question mark.
But offensively, the addition of Soriano would give Chicago the punch that could make the Cubs contenders in the NL Central as he joins a lineup that includes Ramirez and Derrek Lee in homer-friendly Wrigley Field.
"In that ballpark and in that city, they should be very excited," New York Mets bench coach Jerry Manuel said while attending the Spurs-Kings NBA game in Sacramento. "Because of the lack of pitching in our industry, if there is a lack in this area you have to load up on the other side -- and people are going to load up on offense. He's a tremendous player."
Primarily a second baseman during a career that began with the New York Yankees in 1999, the 30-year-old Soriano made the switch to left field last season, his first and only one in Washington.
Soriano played his first five seasons in New York and then was traded to the Texas Rangers in the 2004 deal that brought Rodriguez to the Yankees. Soriano was dealt again two seasons later to the Nationals in a trade that sent outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge plus a minor league pitcher to the Rangers.
When he joined the Nationals, Soriano was switched to the outfield because Washington already had Jose Vidro at second. It was a move Soriano initially rejected. But gradually he became comfortable with the switch and made an All-Star team for the fifth straight season, this time at his new position. Soriano even led the league with 22 outfield assists.
Soriano is a .280 career hitter with 208 homers and 560 RBI. He made $10 million last season after losing in salary arbitration. He asked for $12 million.
In 2006, he became the fourth player to record 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. Jose Canseco (Oakland 1988), Barry Bonds (San Francisco 1996) and Rodriguez (Seattle 1998) are the other members of the 40-40 club.
