Tis the Season for Giving

In an offseason in which GMs were throwing money at every free agent on the market like they were at a strip club on a Saturday night, the Rangers traded Alfonso Soriano to the Nationals for 3 average ballplayers- Brad Wilkerson, Termel Sledge, a minor leaguer- and a case of Shiner Bock. Soriano will likely earn around 10 million next year, and he'll be a free agent after that. But still, you'd expect more in return for a 30-30, 100 RBI guy. And if you're the Rangers and you have to trade Soriano for payroll reasons, at least get a solid pitcher, like John Patterson, in return. Not a guy whose marquee value is "Can play all three outfield positions." If that's all you want, I'm sure the Dodgers would have gladly include Ricky Ledee in any deal for Soriano.

In other incomprehensible trade news, the Padres traded Mark Loretta, who was the Pads best player in 2004, for Doug Mirabelli. Here was Kevin Towers' take on the trade:
"Doug Mirabelli is a veteran player with a lot of postseason experience who shores up our catching situation," said Padres executive vice president/general manager Kevin Towers. "We'd like to wish Mark Loretta the best of luck in the future, as he's been not only a great player on the field and in the clubhouse but a tremendous person in the San Diego community as well."
And here's what manager Bruce Bochy had to say:
"Well, Mark is a pro," Bochy said. "He's the consummate professional. He knows how to play the game. He plays both sides of the ball so well. He gives you great defense. He gives you great offense. He can do a lot of things with the bat: He can hit and run, get a double or hit some homers for you. He's just a pro. He's a ballplayer who knows how to play the game. He's a guy who's so fundamentally sound. He's going to help [Boston]."

...Wow that Mark Loretta sounds like a good guy to have on a ballclub. But I guess when you have a chance to land a career backup catcher whose primarily responsibility is catching knuckleballs, you have to make that move.