Alfonso Soriano Could Remain with the Nats
By: Jim Williams
The Examiner

When Nationals President Stan Kasten and General Manager Jim Bowden said that the team would trade Alfonso Soriano only if they got the “right deal,” they really meant it.

There is no doubt that Soriano is the prize of this years “trading season,” but this weekend the Nationals want teams interested to know when they say the right deal they mean the right deal.

Otherwise they will do all they can to sign their star to a long term deal.

Sources within Major League Baseball and national media insiders tell me that this weekend the Nationals have been working on a parallel plan. Bowden has been working the phones doing his best to get at least two tops prospects for Soriano and the Angels and Tigers continue to be the hottest suitors with at least five other teams having expressed great interest.

Meanwhile, the team representatives are working with Alfonso Soriano’s agents to hammer out a long term deal that could keep him with the team for years to come. The goal is to have the deal in place ready to be signed by as soon as possible.

What happens before Monday at 4p.m one way or another will be a big moment in the new history of the new Nationals.