The Soriano questions

DALLAS — Alfonso Soriano will be, without question, the biggest name and most-talented player to wear a Washington Nationals uniform.

But that’s the only statement anyone can make with any certainty about the blockbuster deal Nationals general manager Jim Bowden pulled off late Wednesday night with the Texas Rangers.

Soriano’s acquisition, while a boon to Washington’s punchless lineup, raises nearly as many questions as it answers:

• Will the 29-year-old slugger, a second baseman for all of his major-league career, be willing to shift to left field at his new team’s request?

• Will incumbent second baseman Jose Vidro’s chronically bad knee prevent him from playing and allow Soriano to move back to his natural position?

• Will Soriano, a free agent at the end of the 2006 season, want to sign a long-term deal to stay with the Nationals?

• Will the three players the Nationals traded away — outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge and minor-league pitcher Armando Galarraga — realize their potential and enjoy greater success in Texas than Soriano will in spacious RFK Stadium?

• And do the Nationals still have the resources to fill their roster’s other gaping holes: starting pitching and a leadoff hitter?

These were the factors Bowden and his front-office cohorts had to weigh during this week’s winter meetings before finally agreeing to the deal around 11:30 p.m. EST Wednesday.

Because the trade won’t become official until Wilkerson passes a physical with the Rangers on Monday, Bowden could not formally comment on it yesterday as he departed the Wyndham Anatole hotel. But Washington’s brazen GM indicated he was more than willing to take those risks in exchange for a star of Soriano’s caliber.

“If a certain trade were to happen, we’d be very pleased,” Bowden said. “It’s very difficult to acquire one of the top offensive players in the game, and he’s certainly one of the top 10.”

Soriano’s career numbers put him in that discussion. In five full seasons with the Rangers and New York Yankees, he’s averaged 32 homers, 94 RBI, a .282 average, 33 stolen bases and 132 strikeouts. Last season, he clubbed 36 homers and a career-high 104 RBI while batting .268.

But can he put up comparable numbers playing at RFK, one of the majors’ least-favorable hitting parks?

The greater concern surrounding Soriano is in the field. Even at second base, he’s seen as somewhat of a liability, committing an average of 21 errors in the last five seasons. He’s never played the outfield in a major-league game and has expressed strong dissension at such a move in the past.

Several sources close to Soriano said yesterday he may flat-out refuse the switch to left field, and he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “I have the same position as I always had with Texas. I said that I’m not going to change positions. I don’t think[the Nationals] want me to play the outfield. I think if they traded for me, it was to play second base.”

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