Alfonso Soriano wasn’t happy to begin with. The then-29-year-old infielder was traded to Washington by Texas in a December 8, 2005 deal for pitcher Armando Galarraga and two outfielders, Terrmel Sledge and Brad Wilkerson, and Soriano was asked to move from second base to left field by the Nationals. The home run-hitting, base-stealing threat preferred to remain at second base (where the Nats had Jose Vidro).
Soriano also objected to the fact that he hadn’t been told about the Nationals’ plans until after the deal had been completed.