In the crush of stories about stadium financing, team ownership, and MLB’s general level of Scrooge McDuck miserliness, it’s been easy to forget that, had the Nats been able to put a few more runs on the board last year, Washington’s inaugural baseball season would likely have included a playoff run. Washington’s patchwork starting staff and heroic bullpen were ninth in the league in runs allowed, but the Nats were dead last in runs scored, a stat that has more to do with the signing limitations of the league owned Nationals than the cavernous confines of RFK. Given uncertainty about who would end up holding the deed to the team, it has been widely assumed that the Nats would be forced to sit on their hands this offseason, watching free agents fly by as they prepare for a sophomore slump. The offseason moves made to date, acquisitions of bicycle wheel baseball card players Marlon Anderson and Brian Lawrence, hadn’t exactly set the fans’ hair on fire.
But the Washington front office pulled the trigger on a doozie this week, bringing in former Yankee and Texas Ranger Alfonso Soriano, in a move that makes the Nats’ lineup much more dangerous and much faster on the basepaths. In Soriano’s five full years as a major leaguer, he’s averaged over 30 homers and 30 steals a year as an infielder, where he’s shown great ability and range. The knocks on him are his penchant for swinging at high fastballs, breaking balls away, passing blimps, and anything else that catches his eye while he’s in the batter’s box, and he’s known for dogging it in the field when he gets tired, but Frank Robinson is a motivator who’s sure to get the most out of his new plaything. It’s likely that Alfonso will spend time in the outfield anyway, given All-Star Jose Vidro’s status as an elite second baseman.
In getting Soriano, the Nats traded away Termel Sledge and Brad Wilkerson, who was a fan favorite and Chevy Chase Bank spokesperson, but who struggled with his hitting down the stretch. The deal also includes a Washington minor leaguer to be named later. Welcome to the Nationals, Alfonso. We hope you enjoy your stay.
