It seems extremely likely that the Washington Nationals will
not have the roster space nor the money to keep Rafael Soriano and his club
option after the 2014 season, should the Yankees prepare for a #untuck redux?
Yes and no.
Soriano was the saving grace of the Yankees during the 2012
season as he filled in for the great, and injured, Mariano Rivera as he
untucked his way to the American League Championship Series with New York.
Soriano went from the most expensive 7th inning man in the history
of Major League Baseball to the Yankees closer in a matter of a calendar year
and was a free agent at just the right time. Washington swooped him up after
that successful 2012 season and plugged him into an already strong bullpen to
be the team’s closer.
Since then Soriano has fallen out of grace in Washington and
has struggled mightily which led him to lose the closer’s job with the
Nationals. Soriano had a vesting option in his contract for the 2015 season
that did not vest due to his inefficiencies and will likely make him one of the
better free agents in the relief market this season.
If the Yankees can get Soriano on a shorter term deal, one
year preferably, then I don’t necessarily have a problem with it. With all his
struggled withstanding in his first season in New York and his time in
Washington Soriano is probably still better than either Shawn Kelley or Preston
Claiborne. It would likely be an expensive addition by subtraction but an
addition by subtraction nonetheless.
If New York can get Soriano to come in once again to be the
7th inning guy but this time at a reasonable salary and contract than
I am all for it. If he wants to get greedy again then I just hope and pray that
Hank and Hal Steinbrenner and Randy Levine aren’t reading and preparing another
lucrative contract loaded with opt out clauses.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)