Alfonso Soriano will head back to Wrigley Field Tuesday for the first time since he was traded to the Yankees last July.
“I enjoyed my time there, but they always tried to build the team for two to three years [from now] and my mind-set is, ‘I just want to win now,’” Soriano said over the weekend at Yankee Stadium. “I’m getting older. I don’t know how many years I’m going to play, so I’m thinking about the present, not the future.”
When Jim Hendry signed Soriano to an eight-year, $136 million deal as the Cubs general manager before the 2007 season, he probably didn’t envision watching Soriano finish the contract in The Bronx, where Hendry also now works.
Still, Hendry, now an assistant to Brian Cashman, doesn’t regret the move.
“No, not really,” Hendry said. “The year before we signed him, he hit 46 homers and stole 41 bases [with Washington]. He was a legitimate 40/40 guy. Then by the 15th game of the first year with us he injured his [hamstring]. He played through it but the running game was over. When he couldn’t run as good he was a different player. We didn’t get the guy we thought.”
And Hendry pointed to finishing at the top of the NL Central in each of Soriano’s first two seasons in Chicago.
“In my mind, it wasn’t a terrible contract,” Hendry said. “We won back-to-back [division] titles, he always worked and was a great teammate.”
Soriano agreed.
“My first two years were fun, making the playoffs,” Soriano said. “After that, we started trading players and they kept me there and then they wanted to start over. I wanted to win there, but if not, I’ve got to move somewhere else…The Yankees always try to win, so I don’t worry about that.”
Carlos Beltran is scheduled to see Dr. James Andrews Tuesday to get a second opinion regarding his sore right elbow. Surgery has not been ruled out.
Michael Pineda (shoulder muscle), is in Tampa and will likely increase his rehab there.
According to a source, despite reports indicating the Yankees are among the finalists for 23-year-old Cuban outfielder Daniel Carbonell, the team is not seriously pursuing the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder. They were among the teams to scout him in Mexico.
Pitching prospect Manny Banuelos, coming back from Tommy John surgery, was scratched from his scheduled start with Double-A Trenton on Monday because of arm fatigue. Trenton manager Tony Franklin told reporters it was “arm soreness” and Banuelos would play catch Thursday.
Yangervis Solarte’s recent 0-for-13 slide hasn’t stopped him from being one of the Yankees’ most productive players. Assistant GM Billy Eppler explained what led the Yankees to sign the former Texas farmhand in the offseason.
“He was a younger minor league free agent,” Eppler said of the 26-year-old. “Most of them are 29 to 30. He was a switch hitter with good plate discipline.”