As the Cubs endure their second consecutive offseason with payroll restrictions, it is worth wondering: Would the Cubs and Alfonso Soriano consider renegotiating his contract to free up some money in the short term and provide Soriano payments into his post-retirement years?

Consider:

Matt Holliday's Sorianoesque seven-year, $120 million contract calls for $2 million to be deferred each year of the contract - to be paid from 2020 to 2029 (in annual installments of $1.4 million or $1.6 million, depending on whether his option vests).

Brian Giles will be paid $12.5 million in deferred payments over the next 15 years by the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team he hasn't played for since 2003.

Scott Rolen renegotiated his contract with the Reds, cutting his 2010 salary from $11 million to $6 million - though they extended him two years in doing so and gave him a deferred signing bonus.

Soriano is owed $18 million a year through 2014 (a total of $90 million). The Cubs could free up payroll any number of ways - deferring $2 million or $3 million a year the next five years; deferring $5 million a year the next two or three years; or whatever. They could even sweeten the deal a bit on the back end, if need be.

You rarely hear about major league contracts being renegotiated (though the Mets just did it with Henry Blanco). It happens all the time in football but not so much in baseball - presumably because baseball contracts are guaranteed, while football contracts aren't.

Is renegotiating something the union would frown upon? What is the downside for Soriano, unless he is having cash flow problems?