Washington’s Alfonso Soriano filed for free agency with San Francisco pitcher Jason Schmidt. Thirty year old Soriano, who has batted .277 with 46 homers, 95 RBIs and 41 steals, was relocated to outfield from second base by the Nationals. Soriano joined Jose Canseco (Oakland 1988), Barry Bonds (San Francisco 1996) and Alex Rodriguez (Seattle 1998) as the only players with 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in the same season. Soriano had asked for $12 million this year but after salary negotiations he had to agree on $10 million.
Schmidt’s $10 million opportunity for 2006 was worked out by the Giants, but they already predicted that they might lose him as a free agent this offseason. The 33-year-old right-hander seemed ready for a change of vista from San Francisco, which has undergone two straight losing seasons and three in a row out of the playoffs. Schmidt was the Giants’ lone All-Star this season and went 11-9 with a 3.59 ERA in 213 1-3 innings.