Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Rafael Soriano Potential Draft Pick Compensation


Rafael Soriano is all but done as a New York Yankee after he opted out of his contract and Mariano Rivera announced he would give the Yankees one more season. He declined his qualifying offer looking for a four year $60 million closers job and I fully expect him to get that after his miraculous season not only saving games for the Yankees but saving the Yankees season. There are going to be a ton of teams interested in seeing him #untuck their jerseys but none have been released by Scott Boras yet. If I had to speculate on teams that could make a run at his services I would say that the Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, and the Chicago Cubs could all have varying levels of interest.

Chicago Cubs - 2nd Pick
Miami Marlins - 6th Pick
Toronto Blue Jays - 10th Pick
New York Mets - 11th Pick
Milwaukee Brewers - 17th Pick
Los Angeles Dodgers - 19th Pick
Detroit Tigers - 21st Pick
Tampa Bay Rays - 23rd Pick
Texas Rangers - 25th Pick
Cincinnati Reds - 30th Pick

Pretend this is #29 & says Soriano on the back
I really could see the Cubs making a serious move at him because in my opinion they have to almost trade Carlos Marmol after the Dan Haren trade fell through. The 4 year deal gives Theo Epstein and company time to get its act together and compete by the end of the contract. Whether Soriano would want to go to the team with the 2nd worst record in baseball is one thing but the money is definitely there and the core of Barney, Castro, etc is starting to take form. The fact that the pick is protected and a second round pick would be given up by Chicago instead of a first round pick also sweetens the pot. The Miami Marlins is really where I expect Soriano to end up after Heath Bell was traded but one thing may keep that from happening and that is the Marlins unwillingness to give a no trade clause. I cannot see Soriano signing a deal without one and I know that weirder things have happened I guess but they do not usually include mega agent Scott Boras. The fact that their pick would also be protected increases the willingness for a team like Miami to strike such a deal. I am predicting the Marlins sign this man with another spending spree but I am hoping for a team like the Mets, Brewers, or Dodgers to sign him so he can stay hidden in the National League all season long. The Brewers are definitely a dark horse in my opinion after Jon Axford continued to not get the job done and they may finally rid themselves of the K Rod contract this season so look out for them in the closers market as well.

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