Cubs trade Soriano to Yankees
FILE - Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano is congratulated in the dugout on his two-run home run against the Seattle Mariners in the 11th inning of a baseball game in this June 29, 2013 file photo taken in Seattle. Chicago players were upset about the news of teammate Alfonso Soriano's impending trade to the Yankees, and manager Dale Sveum thought that played a part in the Cubs' 3-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday July 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
New York’s Alfonso Soriano watches his single off Tampa Bay relief pitcher Cesar Ramos in the eighth inning of Friday’s game at Yankee Stadium.
Alfonso Soriano took one look around Yankee Stadium and broke into a big, familiar smile.
“This is my house, this is my home,” he said. “I’m happy I have the opportunity to come back to New York – 10 years.”
The New York Yankees reacquired Soriano in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on Friday, hoping the seven-time All-Star can provide a power boost to a team that desperately needs pop.
Soriano immediately went into the starting lineup, batting cleanup and playing left field against Tampa Bay. The Cubs got minor league pitcher Corey Black and will send almost $17.7 million to the Yankees to cover the rest of Soriano’s rich contract.
“We’ve obviously been trying to improve our offense, to no avail, throughout this season,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “By far, he is the best available bat to date.”
Soriano outhomered the Yankees all by himself (10-8) in the four weeks prior to the deal. Overall, the 37-year-old was hitting .254 with 17 homers and 51 RBIs with the Cubs.
The Bronx Bombers led the majors with 245 home runs last year, but have become the Bronx burn-outs this season, ranking next-to-last in the AL with only 88. Banged up, they’ve played most of the year without Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
“He’s not the same player he used to be,” Cashman said, “but he certainly provides some thunder from the right side that we’ve been lacking.”
Cashman hinted, too, that more deals might be in the works. The Yankees began the day with a 54-48 record and in fourth place in the AL East, 6 games behind division-leading Boston.
Soriano got his old No. 12, with Vernon Wells shifting to No. 22. The Yankees optioned outfielder Thomas Neal to Triple-A to make room for Soriano.
Soriano waived his no-trade clause to rejoin his old team. He was popular with teammates and fans for five seasons before New York traded him to Texas in a deal for Rodriguez.
N.Y. Mets 11-1, Washington 0-2: Ryan Zimmerman homered with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the New York Mets for a doubleheader split.
In the opener, Jenrry Mejia pitched seven scoreless innings in his season debut and Daniel Murphy homered twice and tied a career high with five RBI as Mets won 11-0. Murphy had two hits for New York in the nightcap and went 6 for 9 in the day-night doubleheade.
Atlanta 4, St. Louis 1: Mike Minor allowed only one run to give Atlanta’s depleted rotation a lift, Jason Heyward homered, and the Braves beat Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in a matchup of division leaders.
Baltimore 6, Boston 0: Chris Tillman pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, Adam Jones homered twice and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Boston Red Sox 6-0 to end a three-game skid.
Detroit 2, Philadelphia 1: Alex Avila’s two-run double in the fifth inning put Detroit ahead, and Doug Fister pitched eight impressive innings for the Tigers in a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Toronto 12, Houston 6: Edwin Encarnacion hit two home runs in one inning, including his sixth career grand slam, Jose Reyes, Adam Lind and Brett Lawrie also went deep and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 12-6.