Yanks Could Come Calling For Soriano

Despite the New York Yankees' claims -- laughable, if you ask us -- that they are content to fill the loss of left fielder Hideki Matsui through internal moves, you can be sure the trade market for Nationals left fielder Alfonso Soriano just got very warm.

The Yankees have other options, of course. Most notably, the Minnesota Twins, should they fall any further back in the AL Central race, may decide to deal center fielder Torii Hunter, whose contract has a $12 million option for 2007.

But Yankees GM Brian Cashman still has a soft spot for Soriano, who played in the Bronx from 1999 to 2003, and whom, according to Cashman, was traded only because it brought Alex Rodriguez in return. If Cashman could reacquire Soriano for, say, pitching prospect Philip Hughes -- whom the Nationals covet -- it also would make him look good in the eyes of owner George Steinbrenner, no insignificant matter to Cashman.

Meantime, the Yankees' sudden need for a left fielder may have stirred other teams to action, as well.

According to a league source, Mets GM Omar Minaya called the Nationals on Friday, just as the Yankees' reported interest in Soriano was hitting the New York papers. Although Minaya is known to covet Nationals second baseman Jose Vidro and pitcher Livan Hernandez -- whom he signed to long-term deals as the Montreal Expos' GM -- it makes sense that he also would implore Nationals GM Jim Bowden not to trade Soriano to the Yankees without giving the Mets a chance first.

With both New York teams interested in Soriano, the Nationals could not have drawn it up any better.

· TIGER BEAT: The list of people who think the Detroit Tigers are for real seems to be growing. A scout from a National League team, who got his first glimpse of the Tigers in Baltimore last week, had this to say about right-hander Justin Verlander, who beat the Orioles on Wednesday night:

"His pure stuff is about as good as anyone in that league. He's up there with [Oakland's Rich] Harden. If [the Tigers] keep all these pitchers healthy, and if Verlander keeps getting better, they're going to be trouble."

If anything, this scout said, Joel Zumaya, Detroit's 21-year-old right-handed reliever, has an even better arm than Verlander. But for now, the Tigers seem content to let Zumaya serve an apprenticeship in the bullpen.

· POST-BONDS ERA? : The biggest development last week regarding Barry Bonds's future was not the agent for the Giants slugger saying he expects Bonds to play in 2007; it was Giants owner Peter Magowan saying he can imagine a scenario in which Bonds finishes his career somewhere other than San Francisco.

In the past, Magowan has always insisted he wanted Bonds to finish his career with the Giants. And while Magowan's words may have been a negotiating ploy, it seems just as likely the Giants have determined that Bonds's immense baggage has finally outweighed the benefits.