Apparently the Twins are making a move for Soriano

[Y`s Guy]

Tomorrow will be the big day if not today...

From Twincities.com...

The Twins' pursuit of all-star second baseman Alfonso Soriano may not be done, after all.

At least not until Monday.

That's how long the Twins have to work out a trade to acquire the Texas Rangers slugger after they claimed him on waivers this weekend, according to a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

By merely making the claim, the Twins block teams with better records, such as the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, the New York Yankees and Oakland, from making a deal to acquire Soriano, who was hitting .283 with 29 home runs and 83 RBIs entering play Saturday.

When a player is placed on the 48-hour waivers, the team with the worst record among those making a claim is awarded the claim. If a deal can't be worked out at that point and the player's original team chooses to keep him, it can pull the player back — at which point that player cannot be traded for the rest of the season.

Twins general manager Terry Ryan wouldn't confirm or deny the Soriano report.

Although the Twins' primary motive in this case appears to be to block another contender from acquiring Soriano, the teams are said to be discussing what it would take to swing the deal.

The Twins and Rangers probably would be left right back where they were at the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline, when trade talks for Soriano ended with the Twins' refusal to include pitching prospect Francisco Liriano in a deal.

The Twins offered various combinations of pitchers Joe Mays, Kyle Lohse and J.C. Romero.

Whether the Rangers' need for pitching has become more desperate in the past three weeks, it doesn't appear the Twins have Lohse and Romero to offer in trades anymore. ESPN reports both were placed on waivers, claimed and pulled back, making them unavailable in trades.

Mays and his $7.25 million contract, on the other hand, cleared waivers, according to ESPN, and he is free to be traded.

Acquiring Soriano likely would require a multiyear, high-salary commitment from the Twins, especially if they relent on the Rangers' demand for a top-end pitching prospect.

The Twins would be responsible for the $1.8 million left on Soriano's $7.5 million salary this season. He is eligible at the end of the season for arbitration, a process that could drive his salary to close to $10 million.

If the Twins give up a prized prospect for Soriano, they would certainly look to sign him for next year and possibly look into a two- or three-year deal.

[BaseballFann0008]

Twins wont get alfonso...to much whaffling going on

[Balco]

The will get him and win the AL Wild Card.

[Crimedogg32]

did you even read the article? Primary motive to block other teams

[blankman]

did you even read the article? Primary motive to block other teams

Yeah, they won't get him IMO. Their owner is much too cheap to sign him long-term, even though I believe he's the richest owner in the sport.

[blankman]

Oh, and Y's Guy, about your sig, its not html. Replace the < with [ and > with ] and it'll work.

[hybrid]

Yeah it makes no sense for the Twins to overpay on a guy like Soriano, when they are one of the teams against that w/ a small market team. Also who wants to see Soriano on turf anyways, think of how much time he would spend looking bad out there on defense.

[gws226]

The Rangers are #2 behind only TB in terms of trade demands.