Suggested Trade...Soriano for Young...

This isn't my idea; I've seen it proposed by Phil Rogers in the Trib and by some bulletin board posters.

Texas deals disgruntled 2nd baseman Michael Young to the Cubs for left fielder Alfonso Soriano, who would DH for them.

Young has 3 years at 16 million a year left on his contract. Soriano has 4 years at 18 million a year left on his deal.

I don't know if it's possible, but what if the Cubs paid half of that last year, and made up the difference between their deals for the next three years (that would be sending Texas 15 million dollars) and threw in a couple of decent prospects, say, Jay Jackson and Chris Carpenter? (I'd suggest a position player, but other than Brett Jackson, who they'll need if they deal Soriano, the Cubs aren't stacked with position player prospects...) Were I the Cubs, I'd be happy to get out from under Soriano and save 9 million dollars in 2014 and happy to get Brett Jackson an opportunity and happy to get a guy like Young to take over at second base for them.

One of the biggest problems with Soriano is that he blocks a young talented player and at some point the Cubs will have to relegate him to the bench. Or maybe not - Jackson plays CF, and Marlon Byrd is signed only through 2012. Byrd might be easier to move than Soriano, but if ever there seemed to be a deal where it might actually be possible to move Soriano, this is the one.

We'll see what happens...

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