The painful truth: Trade Soriano

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Who says Washington isn't a baseball town?

Sports talk radio listeners have heard a barrage of callers debating the merits of re-signing Nationals slugger Alfonso Soriano versus trading him during the last week.

It's the kind of talk normally expected in cities like Boston and Chicago, but now it's come here. And for that, you can thank (or blame) Soriano and the Nationals for their stunning late May/early June turnaround.

All of a sudden, everyone's asking the same question: Can we keep Soriano, please?

Let's cut right to the chase: No.

Sorry if that was a tad harsh, but unfortunately it's the truth. As tempting as the thought of re-signing Soriano might be, it's just not likely to happen. Let's explain ...

Soriano, a pending free agent at the end of the season, is having a career year, one in which he is on pace for 58 home runs and 38 stolen bases. Those kind of numbers are going to command big bucks in the offseason, perhaps something in the range of five years and $65 million.

Sound a little outrageous? Not really. Consider some recent long-term deals signed by the game's biggest sluggers: David Ortiz of the Red Sox (four years, $52 million), J.D. Drew of the Dodgers (five years, $55 million), Paul Konerko of the White Sox (five years, $60 million) and Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels (five years, $70 million). Soriano easily falls into that category.

So it's going to take a boatload of cash to keep him in a curly W cap. So what, some say? Give him the money, he's worth it.

Don't forget the other part of the equation: Soriano has to want to re-sign. At the moment, it's not clear if he does. He's made some vague statements about liking the city and the team but not being comfortable in left field and not wanting to make a decision until the offseason.