The Chicago Cubs have continued their busy offseason by signing the winters top free agent, Alfonso Soriano, to an eight-year $135 million contract. Soriano signed the fifth largest contract in league history behind A-Rod (10 years $252 million), Derek Jeter (10 years $189 million), Manny Ramirez (8 years $160 million), and Todd Helton (11 years $141.5 million). Soriano is set to play for the fourth team in his career, and is coming off arguably the best season of his career. Never a great defensive player, in his first season as an outfielder Soriano was second in the NL among outfielders with 11 errors; he did however show some potential by leading the league with 22 outfield assists. Regardless, Soriano makes his money with his bat. He became just the fourth player to join the 40/40 club, hitting 46 home-runs and stealing 41 bases. Even though he has a lot of power, he is used as a lead-off hitter and is the type of player that can jumpstart a team and bring a lot of needed energy back to Wrigley. The Cubs have already re-signed third baseman Aramis Ramirez to a five-year $73 million contract, nothing compared to Soriano?s deal, but with Soriano, Ramirez, and Derrek Lee the Cubs are building a line-up with some potential. Even though they finished last in the NL Central, a division that contains the World Series winning St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs have a talented roster that can push for a playoff spot. Re-signing Ramirez, adding Soriano, and bringing in manager Lou Piniella will bring the team some positive energy that they have been lacking since the infamous catch by Steve Bartman. Although the Cubs needed to spend a lot of money to get Soriano, he is worth it. No team was going to get him cheaply and the Cubs were wise to sign him early in the Winter. He is a very consistent player; you know what you are going to get with him year in and year out. He is going to be a guy that can be a defensive liability but will more than make up for it with his bat and speed. Some people believe he is a problem in the clubhouse, but he did not seem to have any problems last year after agreeing to make the position switch to the outfield, and Lou Piniella will be able to handle Soriano. My Grade: A You can?t go wrong by signing a consistent superstar who has never had health problems.