In dire need of offensive help, the New York Yankees have acquired Alfonso Soriano from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Class-A pitcher Corey Black. As part of the agreement, the Cubs will pick up $17.7 million of the $24.5 million Soriano is owed through the 2014 season.

Soriano is scheduled to earn $18 million next season, $5 million of which New York will pay, leaving a $1.8 million commitment for the remainder of this season. Soriano has a no-trade clause in his contract and it has been reported that the Yankees were the only team he would approve.

The Yankees entered Saturday as the only Major League team without a home run since the All-Star break. The offense has struggled mightily with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira limited to a combined 85 at-bats. Joe Girardi currently has a depth chart led by Lyle Overbay, Luis Cruz, Eduardo Nunez, Travis Hafner and Chris Stewart.

Soriano has eight home runs in July, one more than the Yankees do this month. He won't solve all of New York's problems, especially their .324 on-base percentage over the last 22 games, but power is what Brian Cashman is looking for in the veteran. Only the Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies have a lower slugging percentage than the Yankees (.341) this month.

If you take Soriano's numbers with the Cubs and carry them over to the American League, he would rank second in home runs, RBI and slugging and fourth in hits on the Yankees.  

New York isn't in position to concede the playoff race and adding Soriano for $6.8 million over a season-plus is relatively affordable. The Yankees know Soriano isn't patient at the plate, but in addition to power they are in dire need of his ability to hit left-handed pitchers. One man can't fix such a significant deficiency, but Soriano has a .273/.310/.496 slash line against lefties. The Yankees have hit .234/.306/.338 against southpaws in 2013.

Grade for Yankees: B-

The Yankees continue to get older, but adding Soriano for $6.8 million is reasonable. With that said, a disturbing trend continues in New York. Cashman made it clear that he wasn't in favor of the deal, which was pushed by ownership. The GM also preferred re-signing Russell Martin and adding another piece to re-signing Ichiro Suzuki this past winter, but ownership intervened.

A lot needs to fall into place for the Yankees to make the playoffs, but Soriano hitting lefties and providing some power is a step in the right direction. If New York doesn't add more offense ahead of next week's deadline, they'll need guys like Jeter, Granderson and Kevin Youkilis to return and immediately produce. They'll also need CC Sabathia to figure out why he's allowed 17 runs over his last three starts (14 innings).

Grade for Soriano: A-

We rarely grade players in trade situations, but Soriano's power (no-trade clause) in this deal is obvious. He is a member of the Yankees because he wanted to be and for that reason alone you can't rate this transaction poorly on his behalf. New York may not make the playoffs, but they should hang around for a majority of the second half. They'll also have a better chance at contention than the Cubs in 2014.

Grade for Cubs: C

It was a bit surprising that Theo Epstein was willing to pay $17.7 million of the $24.5 million left on Soriano's contract essentially for a low-rate pitching prospect. The Cubs had little choice in the matter, however, with Soriano holding the keys to any trade.

Dealing Soriano has definite advantages. His at-bats will go to a younger player that figures into Chicago's long-term plans instead of a 37-year-old. They also created close to $7 million in savings through next season. That may not seem like a lot when set against the remaining value on Soriano's contract, but teams weren't exactly lining up to take on any of it.