They say you can’t go home again. The Chicago Cubs have traded Alfonso Soriano to the New York Yankees for a couple of lower level minor league arms. Additionally, the Cubs will be taking on the majority of Soriano’s remaining salary for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Funny, but Soriano’s performance the last couple of seasons wouldn’t necessarily warrant dumping him like he was yesterday’s garbage. Still, the Cubs are looking forward. So, in order to make sense of this move, I’ll attempt to look at it from both team’s perspective and then finally yours.

For the Yankees

This one is easy. The Yankees are still in the playoff race in spite of some really significant issues. The most significant issue has been on the offensive end. Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez have been on the shelf for most of the season if not all of the season. That leaves Robinson Cano as the only pedigreed hitter in the lineup. Fortunately for the Yankees, players like Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner, and Lyle Overbay have picked up the slack at times. Still, take a look at their lineup and you wonder how in the heck they got into the playoff chase at all.

Enter Alfonso Soriano. In the pantheon of hitters that the Yankees trot out on a regular basis, Soriano probably exists somewhere in the middle ground. A .754 OPS isn’t going to set the world on fire, but compared to the guys the Yankees throw out of there (looking at you Vernon Wells) he is an improvement. Hidden in that pedestrian OPS are some pretty impressive numbers. Soriano is north of the .200 ISO number for the fourth year in a row. His on base skills have eroded, but the Yankees aren’t looking for on base ability. They are looking for run production.

With a strong finish, Soriano could approach both 30 home runs and 90 RBIs. It may not be much, but if you couple that with a healthy Alex Rodriguez (a big if considering all the drama surrounding him) then you may have enough to sneak into the playoffs as a wild card. From there, anything can happen.

From the Cubs

I am somewhat disappointed that the Cubs did not get more. Either they should have demanded a better group of prospects or they should have had the Yankees pay for more of the tab on Soriano. The implication is plain here. The Cubs have been tearing down the roster for a couple of years now. Soriano was the largest piece and the most significant piece to go. The Yankees will pick up 6.8 million of the tab between this year and next, so that is nearly seven million dollars to play with.

If we assume that the Cubs will reinvest that money that money in their major league team next season, you can reasonably assume they can find a .750ish OPS guy for that amount of money. They may also find that guy in their organization somewhere. At any rate, they are taking the next step into their rebuilding process.

Fantasy Implications

I’m not exactly sure how much of a fantasy impact Alfonso Soriano was in your fantasy league. In mixed leagues he was almost certainly not a regular at this point, but he should have increased run producing options now that he has moved to a slightly better lineup. The biggest impact may come for those in AL only leagues. Outfield is fairly deep, but it is not deep enough to completely ignore a guy that will conservatively hit 25 home runs and drive in 80 runs.