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Soriano, Nats Appear Headed for Second Go-Round
The Nats are fielding all options with regard to Alfonso Soriano, including the "disqualified" list if he refuses to play.
(By Ted S. Warren -- Associated Press)
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At the time, Soriano would have done anything to get into the Yankees' lineup, and he gladly accepted the position change. The experiment, however, lasted less than a week. Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch was having monumental problems making throws to first base, so the Yankees decided to flip-flop Soriano and Knoblauch.
Soriano started five games in left field that spring, stunning the Yankees with his grace -- something he had lacked as a shortstop.
"We thought he was a very good left fielder," Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said. "He looked natural out there -- very graceful, good instincts."
Once Soriano moved to second base that spring, Cashman said the Yankees never seriously contemplated moving him again, despite a growing perception around the game that he was a sub-par defensive second baseman. Soriano became a star in New York, hitting 39 homers and stealing 41 bases in 2002, and excelling in the postseason.
In February 2004, however, the Yankees traded him to Texas for Alex Rodriguez.
No Force Play in Texas
Immediately after acquiring him, the Rangers felt out Soriano about changing positions. The team had an emerging star at second base in Michael Young, whom they were reluctant to move. But Soriano's representative rejected the move, according to Rangers Manager Buck Showalter.
"The agent was in the first meeting with him and they were pretty adamant about it," said Showalter. "We just talked about trying to make some plans and asked him how he felt about it. It wasn't something we were trying to cram down his throat."
Showalter said Bentz did most of the talking and made it clear that Soriano didn't intend to move. "It was just 'second base, second base, and second base,' " said Showalter.
The issue was resolved when Young, unprompted, walked into Showalter's office and offered to move to shortstop. But Showalter said the team never thought about forcing Soriano to move. He said such a decision not only would have upset Soriano, whom Showalter genuinely liked, but might have ignited the kind of tension that the Nationals are facing.
"We could have very easily been in [the] same situation [as the Nationals] if we wanted to push it," he said.
Another Rangers official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the team considered trying to move Soriano to the outfield another time but decided not to because there were concerns about Soriano's level of concentration at second base -- which, the team figured, would only get worse if he were farther from the action.
"Concentration is his biggest problem, and he also can't make the double play," the Rangers official said. "He could be average [defensively] as a second baseman, but he doesn't seem to care about defense. He's very inconsistent. A routine ball is not necessarily an out with Sori."
