Major-league sources, however, give no credence to recent speculation that the Cubs might be in pursuit of a trade with the Washington Nationals for Alfonso Soriano or Jose Vidro to play second. The Cubs have had no recent conversations with Nationals general manager Jim Bowden about those players and have no plans to get involved. Coming off a knee injury last season, Vidro is of no interest to them at the moment. Soriano's defense at second is questionable. When the Cubs were talking with the Nationals about a possible deal for him last July, they were interested in his offense. They also intended to ask him to play the outfield if a trade had been made, believing that was his best role. Soriano is balking at the Nationals' plan to play him in the outfield.