The following is the second in a two part point/counterpart series by DCist Sports regarding Alfsonso Soriano and his future with the Washington Nationals. Today Jeff Beam provides the case for keeping Soriano. Yesterday, Matt Bourque made the case for trading him.

First off, lets not deny the obvious: sometime between now and the July trade deadline, the Nats are going to have a serious fire sale. Every player not named Zimmerman, Patterson, and Cordero will be on the block, and one would guess that trigger-happy Jim Bowden would even listen to offers for those guys. The Lerner/Kasten team is intent on building this team the right way, and from the ground up. Veteran talent will make way for prospects at every level. And as noted yesterday, this week's draft did not generate a lot of big league-ready talent. Since the new owners have been very public with this strategy and the Nats don't figure to contend this year, radio shows and MLB chat rooms are already abuzz with who they might pry away, and the red-hot Soriano is first among them.

With Albert Pujols out indefinitely, Alfonso is now on the MVP short list. He's a true five-tool player, can play multiple positions, and is well-regarded by his teammates. With a high market value and a contract set to expire at the end of this year, conventional baseball wisdom tells the Nats to get while the gettin' is good with a contender's prospects. However, a baseball man with Kasten's success might see that keeping Soriano might be the smart move after all.

AP photo by Lawrence Jackson

The 2nd baseman-turned-outfielder has gone from a rocky start to clubhouse model. He's acknowledged as one of the hardest working Nats, and is liked by his teammates. He has a combination of speed and power that scouts drool over, and has game-changing ability that alters the opposing pitcher's approach to half the lineup around him. He turns singles into triples with steals, and turns fastballs into souvenirs for the cheap seats. In short, the Nats may scout, draft, coach, and pray that one of their prospects turns out something like Soriano. Even while pressing to trade him, the Post's Tom Boswell wonders, "how many years will it take us to get another one like him?"

And I don't buy the "declining production after 30" reasoning. Today's players are so much better conditioned and protected from injury that they render those statistical trends meaningless - especially athletic specimens like Soriano. Bowden describes his age as a "young 30", and sees no reason that he won't produce for another 10 years.

Alfonso's name is so prevalent in the rumor mill only partially because of his value. Even more, it is because of the desperate outfield situation on a certain free-spending annual contender, and because of his perceived availability. The Yankees, however, lack the prospects that Kasten and co. will demand for Soriano.

The rest of the contenders may not be interested in selling the farm for Soriano, either. When the market heats up, it will focus most intensely on quality pitching, as it does every year. A playoff caliber team cannot possibly get enough pitching depth as the season turns to the dog days of August. In this unbalanced market, a battle-tested veteran like Livan Hernandez, or a hot arm like Tony Armas might generate the same amount of interest as a great bat. Teams with solid clubhouse chemistry might not look to shake up the lineup with Soriano, and may instead bolster their bench with proven veterans who would embrace a reserve role, like Marlon Anderson and Daryle Ward (who both made clutch hits in last night's series-clincher in Atlanta).

Almost everyone else - minus the aforementioned three cornerstones - is expendable, despite the fond feelings the club and the fans have for them. Jose Vidro could supply a .320 hitter and veteran leadership for Omar Minyana's Mets. Jose Guillen could be a monster hitter again in a fly-ball hitter's park like Philly or Cincinnati. Gary Majewski or Jon Rauch could be lifesavers for a contender's overworked bullpen.

The Nats should explore every possible deal that will build a winner in the long-term, and they absolutely cannot let the trade deadline pass without having traded or re-signed Soriano. But unless he expresses a desire to play elsewhere or someone offers the moon, the Nats should seriously consider a future built around their present star.