Chicago Cubs uncertain about Alfonso Soriano as his contract nears end – MLB News
Chicago Cubs' manager Dale Sveum on Sunday, September 30, expressed uncertainty about the future of Alfonso Soriano as the latter’s contract is coming to an end. Dale Sveum, however, hoped a way will be found to deal with the issue.
"That's been our one cornerstone as far as run production," Sveum said. "It's hard to replace that. [Anthony] Rizzo should be fine in a full season, and then you find somebody else who can hit home runs to hit fifth. That's where you start. Who knows who that is? That's the million-dollar question we have to deal with."
It is pertinent to mention here that only a year is left of Soriano’s contract with the Cubs. The club then has to decide a future course. Given the consistency and effectiveness that Soriano has shown as a veteran player, the Cubs will surely encounter difficulties to grapple with this issue.
Chicago Cubs are currently a combination of young and senior players, with the former outnumbering the latter. Being in the rebuilding phase, the Cubs will certainly require weaving a combination that can capably cope with the challenges in the coming years.
Soriano, therefore, has a big role to play since he has fared tremendously well this season. Appearing in 149 games, Soriano has hit 32 homers along with career-high 108 RBIs with .263 batting average, maintaining .503 slugging percentage.
Having a lot of areas to address as the Cubs will be needing new players with multiple contracts coming to an end, Soriano is one of them. The veteran player undeniably occupies a prominent place in the line-up.
However, other areas also needed to be addressed. "We have multiple holes to fill," Sveum said. "It's not just one guy here, one guy there. It's 10 different spots we have to look hard at and try to get better."
Being in the first year of his managerial career, Sveum has ably dealt with a host of issues. But with the rebuilding phase in full swing, it will certainly be interesting to see how he formulates new strategies to deal with the spots that are to be filled in the wake of players departure with the end of contracts.
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