The Jim Hendry era on the North Side officially came to an end today as Alfonso Soriano was traded to the Yankees for what is expected to be a lower tier pitching prospect.  Soriano signed an 8-year contract with the Cubs prior to the 2007 season and helped lead the team to back-to-back division titles in 2007 and 2008.  Unfortunately, the Cubs were swept in both division series and the team started to unravel from there.

As new leadership came in and the team started to rebuild, Soriano and his $18 million contract no longer fit with the team’s needs.  Unfortunately for the Cubs, however, former GM Jim Hendry passed out No Trade clauses like a drunken sailor, so moving Soriano has been easier said than done.  There was talk of a deal last year that would have sent Soriano to the Giants, but he declined the move.  This year, however, he appears willing to accept the move that will reunite him with the franchise with which he started his career.

Soriano’s numbers in a Cub uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Career Batting