Monday, January 17, 2005 Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas -- All-Star second baseman Alfonso Soriano and the Texas Rangers agreed Monday to a one-year, $7.5 million contract -- a raise of $2.1 million -- to avoid salary arbitration. Soriano came to the Rangers in last February's trade that sent Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees. He hit .280 with 28 homers and 91 RBI last year before missing the last 16 games of the season with a strained left hamstring. The Rangers avoided arbitration with the deal, but assistant general manager Jon Daniels said the team could speak with Soriano later about a longer-term deal. Soriano is eligible for free agency after the 2006 season. Texas has two players remaining in arbitration: outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. and right-hander Carlos Almanzar. Players and teams are set to swap proposed salaries Tuesday, with hearings to be scheduled for next month. Matthews started 77 games, had a team-high eight outfield assists and hit .275 with 11 homers, the second-highest total in his career. Almanzar was 7-3 with a 3.72 ERA in 67 games.
That's the end of that idea. I really didn't like the idea of trading young pitching (unless it was Redding or Duckworth) for Soriano.
