SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- A week after the Washington Nationals acquired him from the Texas Rangers, Alfonso Soriano still doesn't want to move to the outfield from second base.
Jose Vidro, a three-time All-Star, starts at second for
Washington, and Nationals general manager Jim Bowden hopes to shift
Soriano from second, where he's a four-time All-Star.
"I don't want to change," Soriano said Monday night at a
dinner held for major league players by Dominican Republic
President Leonel Fernandez. "If I haven't done it before, I won't
do it now."
Soriano said he had a greater comfort level in the AL, and he
plans to become a free agent after next season and sign with an AL
team.
"I knew the pitchers and batters of opposing teams and,
therefore, where to place myself defensively. In the National
that's going to take me a while," he said.
Soriano, who is eligible for salary arbitration, is likely to earn about $10 million next year. He was obtained from Texas for outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge, and pitcher Armando
Galarraga.
"He's such a great athlete that he's able to play other
positions," Bowden said last week. "He could play center, he
could play left."