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Push officially comes to shove: Alfonso Soriano refuses to take the field

Alfonso Soriano has officially refused to play left field:

VIERA, Fla. -- Alfonso Soriano refused to play the outfield for the Washington Nationals in what was supposed to be his spring training debut Monday night, and general manager Jim Bowden said his biggest offseason acquisition will go on the disqualified list if he doesn't agree to switch positions this week.

"The player refused to take the field, which we believe is a violation of his contract," Bowden said.

Soriano has made no bones about his desire to remain at second base, as well as his wishes to return to the American League as soon as he become an unrestricted free agent after this season. But if he continues to refuse to play the position, he'll go onto the disqualified list, and any player on the disqualified list doesn't accrue service time. In other words, he doesn't have the option to simply sit out a year and become a free agent.

Instead, I'm guessing he'll eventually decide to accept the position switch while the Nationals ramp up their efforts to trade him. We'll see. If you're in an NL-only league that doesn't allow you to keep his stats should he be traded to the AL, bump him down a few notches on your draft board.

Previously on Fake Teams:
Alfonso Soriano still refuses to switch positions