Jan 20, 2007 11:27 PM EST

Lou Piniella said that Alfonso Soriano could play centerfield for the Cubs this season.

"I'm intrigued by the idea," Piniella said Saturday after a question and answer session at the winter fan fest. "When we recruited him, we didn't talk about center, we talked about the corners."

Piniella wanted to talk to Soriano first before making the possibility public, and thought they'd consider the idea in Spring Training. But Soriano, the team's new $136 million outfielder, apparently said he'd like to play center during a radio interview Friday night at the convention.

"Now that he's mentioned it, it makes a lot of sense," Piniella said.

Via MLB.com