Washington ? Alfonso Soriano’s up-and-down tenure with the Washington Nationals will last at least until the end of this season, with the team holding on to the slugging left fielder instead of dealing him at baseball’s trade deadline Monday.

The five-time All-Star was thought to be the most prized player available on the market, but the Nationals decided to keep him rather than swapping him for prospects.

“We felt the best deal we could make is no deal,” Nationals general manager Jim Bowden said in a conference call with reporters from San Francisco, where Washington is in town for a three-game series. “He wants to stay in D.C. and did not want to be traded.”

Last in the NL East, the Nationals were expected to be big sellers as Monday’s 3 p.m. deadline for making non-waiver deals approached. But they didn’t make any trades Monday, and the only player they sent away in recent days was veteran reliever Mike Stanton, who was shipped to the Giants last week.

The Nationals acquired Soriano in December from Texas in a trade that sent outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge plus a minor league pitcher to the Rangers. The Nationals already had an All-Star second baseman in Jose Vidro, and the team made clear right away it wanted Soriano to move to the outfield.