Can Soriano help the Pirates defensively?

With Starling Marte reportedly on his way to join the big league club, the Pirates' need at the top of the lineup seems to be filled for now. They could still use a corner outfielder with pop, though, particularly from the right side. One name you hear bandied about is Cubs LF Alfonso Soriano. Soriano is having one of his finest offensive seasons in years, posting a .274/.324/.503 line with 19 HR and 58 RBI. He has a WAR of 2.8 so far, more than twice his full-season WAR a year ago.

There have been two knocks on Soriano, though, that have made him less than desirable as a trade target: his defense and his contract. The latter seems like it would be a significant deterrent to the Pirates and other small market teams. Soriano is owed about $6 million for the remainder of the season and then a whopping $18 million each of the next two years. That's an incredible amount of money, but the Cubs are probably resigned to the fact they'll have to cover a huge portion of his contract in order to move him.

Soriano's defense in the outfield has annually been a sore spot. He's always had a cannon of an arm, so he's a deterrent to runners, but he often misjudged balls and would inexplicably hop before catching a high fly ball, leading to a few awkward misplays. He has decent range, though, and really seems to have turned a corner defensively this year. He's got a UZR of 10.7 and an astonishingly high 20.6 UZR/150. That puts him third in all of baseball. It's really an incredible turnaround and much credit is due Dale Sveum's staff in Chicago, particularly outfielders coach Dave McKay. Still, advanced metrics for defense continue to be a work in progress; so, how does Soriano do in the eye-test? Fox Sports reporter Jon Paul Morosi notes that a scout said Soriano was playing "at least average-and maybe even above average" defensive in left field. That's certainly better than what we've been getting from the likes of Drew Sutton, Garrett Jones and Josh Harrison. I don't know what the acquisition cost for Soriano would be, but if the Pirates could get the Cubs to cover most of Soriano's contract and give up only a pair of fringe prospects (akin to the Ichiro deal), I'd be inclined to take a chance.