The Cubs' party line is that they would be comfortable opening the season with Sammy Sosa in right field.
The Mets' interest in Sosa is waning, according to published reports out of New York. But Tom Reich, one of Sosa's agents, says he still believes that Sosa will be traded — and that the team that acquires him will be getting a highly motivated player.
"I think he will be traded, and I think Sammy will be one of the best pickups of the entire off-season," Reich told the Sporting News on Wednesday. "He deserves better than this. He's determined, absolutely determined — determined to remind people that he has a lot of productive time left.
"People will look around and realize that this will be a helluva play. Everyone is dwelling on everything (from last season). Everyone has forgotten about everything this man has accomplished. Everyone also is living on this idea that, 'If it's Tuesday, it must be steroids.'
"In my opinion, Sammy Sosa will be a very productive player, in 2005 and beyond."
While Reich stopped short of saying that Sosa wants to play elsewhere, a rival general manager says that Sosa's desire for a trade is even greater than the Cubs'.
The question is which team will want Sosa if the Mets are indeed out of the picture. The Tigers, Angels, Orioles, Rangers and Nationals are among the clubs that could use Sosa. The Orioles and Rangers have consistently denied interest. The Nationals would need the Cubs to pay all of Sosa's salary. But as the free-agent options dwindle — Magglio Ordonez and Jeromy Burnitz are the only remaining available sluggers — the interest in Sosa could grow.
Likewise, the Cubs' motivation to trade Sosa figures to intensify as spring training draws near. Sosa feuded with manager Dusty Baker last season and walked out on the team on the season's final day. The Cubs could use the money it saved by trading Sosa to sign Ordonez or Burnitz, and perhaps acquire another bat and bullpen help in a trade.
Sosa, 36, missed more than a month last season with strained ligaments in his lower back, and his .849 on-base/slugging percentage was his lowest since 1997. That figure, however, was equal to the percentages of Jose Guillen and Brian Giles, and higher than those of Chipper Jones, Jeff Bagwell, Andruw Jones and Steve Finley. For all of Sosa's troubles, his home-run rate of one every 13.7 at-bats was the seventh-best in the NL.
Sosa can facilitate a deal by waiving his no-trade clause and stipulations that guarantee him additional money and security if he is sent to another team. Judging from past precedent and the nature of Sosa's contract, the Major League Baseball Players Association probably would not stand in his way if he received a contract extension in return.
A deal of such complexity would require the cooperation of three parties — Sosa, the Cubs and the team that acquires him. Sosa's contract guarantees him an $18 million salary for 2006 if he is traded. It also includes a $19 million club option or $4.5 million buyout for 2007.
The MLBPA generally frowns on "givebacks," but the extension would be Sosa's compensation for agreeing to the change in his contract. By waiving the '06 guarantee, he would simply be removing trade leverage that he created. If Sosa wasn't coming off a down season, a team might view the additional year on his contract as an inducement to acquire him.
Sosa currently is owed a minimum of $25 million by the Cubs — $17 million for next season, a $3.5 million severance payment and a $4.5 million buyout if the club does not exercise his $18 million option for 2006. Because that $18 million becomes guaranteed only if he is traded, he probably would welcome a restructuring if he indeed wants out.
