Headlines

  • Red Sox, Marlins Swap Matt Barnes For Richard Bleier
  • Darren O’Day Announces Retirement
  • Royals To Re-Sign Zack Greinke
  • Rays Close To Contract Extension With Yandy Diaz
  • Mets To Extend Jeff McNeil
  • Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

The Market For Rafael Soriano

By Dan Mennella | December 30, 2010 at 9:30pm CDT

While a handful of arguably inferior free-agent relievers signed surprisingly hefty three-year contracts this offseason, the market for closer Rafael Soriano has been conspicuously quiet.

Joaquin Benoit, Scott Downs and Matt Guerrier inked three-year pacts with the Tigers, Angels and Dodgers, respectively, and it begs the questions of with which team and on what terms Soriano will sign.

Soriano is the second-best remaining free agent on the market, and the Halos, Yankees and Orioles remain potential suitors, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLBTR. Soriano is seemingly in line for a big pay day, but the market for free-agent relievers is inflated this offseason, and Soriano's status as a Type A free agent is an additional deterrent for would-be suitors.

The Angels have invested a lot in their bullpen this offseason, having already signed Hisanori Takahashi and Downs. The Halos' first-round draft pick is protected, so they'd only be forfeiting it to the Rays, but they'd be committing a lot of money to their relief corps if they were to sign Soriano. To boot, Angels GM Tony Reagins said that he was done adding to the bullpen upon signing Downs. In a Soriano poll we conducted Dec. 11, 26 percent of voters thought that he'd end up with the Angels.

The Yankees seem like a logical fit for Soriano, but most reports indicate they're not especially interested. Soriano, along with Mariano Rivera and Joba Chamberlain, would give the Yanks a fearsome late-innings trio, or he could free up Chamberlain to rejoin their spotty starting rotation. It'd be a steep price to pay for a set-up man, and Soriano presumably wants to close (that will serve him well in his next contract negotiations), but the Yankees should never be dismissed — especially after they missed out on Cliff Lee earlier this offseason.

The Orioles could use a closer, but are they inclined to invest so heavily in a reliever when they are still probably a year or two away from seriously contending? Unless the market completely drops out on Soriano, this seems unlikely.

Soriano has already declined the Rays' aribtration offer, but he could always re-sign with them. However, Tampa Bay appears interested in Brian Fuentes, who is seeking a multiyear deal at $5MM per year.

Of course, Soriano could always sign a one-year deal and try his hand in free agency again in 2011-12, but that is an especially risky strategy for relievers, given the tendency for their year-to-year performances to fluctuate.

Something has to give here, and as Tim Dierkes speculated (with respect to Fuentes), there appears to be a buyer's market taking shape.

Share 2 Retweet 16 Send via email0

Uncategorized Rafael Soriano

Examining Orioles, Nationals, LaRoche, Lee
Main
Poll: Where Will Scott Podsednik Sign?
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Red Sox, Marlins Swap Matt Barnes For Richard Bleier

    Darren O’Day Announces Retirement

    Royals To Re-Sign Zack Greinke

    Rays Close To Contract Extension With Yandy Diaz

    Mets To Extend Jeff McNeil

    Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025

    Rays Sign Pete Fairbanks To Extension

    Royals Sign Aroldis Chapman To One-Year Deal

    Athletics Sign Jesús Aguilar

    Orioles Acquire Cole Irvin From A’s

    Astros Name Dana Brown General Manager

    Rays Extend Jeffrey Springs

    Royals, Red Sox Swap Adalberto Mondesi For Josh Taylor

    Red Sox Designate Matt Barnes For Assignment

    Scott Rolen Elected Into Baseball Hall Of Fame

    Red Sox Sign Adam Duvall

    Brad Ausmus Reportedly Among Astros’ GM Finalists

    Mike Clevinger Under Investigation For Domestic Violence Allegations

    Arte Moreno No Longer Pursuing Sale Of Angels

    Twins Acquire Michael A. Taylor From Royals

    Recent

    Quick Hits: Orioles, Nationals, Steer

    Red Sox Designate Franklin German For Assignment

    Red Sox, Marlins Swap Matt Barnes For Richard Bleier

    Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former MLB Pitcher Collin Balester

    Giants Sign Joe Ross To Minor League Deal

    White Sox Claim A.J. Alexy From Twins

    Phillies Designate Sam Coonrod For Assignment

    Tigers Sign Jonathan Davis To Minor League Deal

    Darren O’Day Announces Retirement

    Royals To Re-Sign Zack Greinke

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Offseason Outlook Series
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • MLB Player Chats
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version