Alfonso Soriano is a great hitter but a mediocre second baseman. He would be a wonderful left fielder.
I like the Soriano deal. The Rangers give up a guy who is free agent available and making too much money. As Peter Gammons said in ESPN, there wasn't much of a market for Soriano's salary.
The Rangers get Wilkerson and Sledge, a couple of outfielders. My guess is that Wilkerson will lead off and play left in 2006. It opens up a Kevin Mench for a pitcher trade. Or, Mench can move to right.
Sledge may be the surprise in the trade. He has great speed and could be developed into a leadoff hitter/centerfielder type.
Also, there is the possibility that Wilkerson could be moved for a pitcher. Don't buy your Wilkerson Rangers jersey yet!
Will Clemens come to the Rangers? Yes. It makes a lot of sense for both sides. Clemens want to pitch close to home. This reminds me of a lot of the deal that brought Nolan Ryan to the Rangers back in '89.
According to ESPN:
"If any pitcher alive pays for himself, it's this guy. Of the 17 games Clemens started in Houston this season, six sold out and four more were virtually sold out. That included games with noted non-draws like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Colorado, by the way. "
Clemens' starts averaged nearly 37,000 paying customers. When he didn't pitch, the Astros averaged 34,049 paying customers a game. Start adding up that math." (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2251543)
The Rangers could use a boost like this. However, the biggest boost is in the clubhouse where young Rangers' pitchers could benefit from having Clemens around.
The Rangers should go for Clemens and try to sign Matt Morris. Moving Soriano's huge salary allows the Rangers to sign a guy like Morris.
Then they could use their young players to get another major league pitcher who can be their 3rd starter after Clemens and Morris.
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