The Dodgers have already spent big on their bullpen this offseason, adding Brandon League on a three-year, $22.5MM deal and J.P. Howell for one year and $2.85MM. According to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter), that hasn't stopped them from looking into the biggest name left on the relief market: Rafael Soriano.
Olney says there's only about a 20-percent chance the team goes out and signs the former Yankee stopper. That's obviously a long shot, but it's more interest than has been reported by most other clubs to date. The market for Soriano appears to be stalled due to the fact that he rejected a qualifying offer from the Yankees and will therefore require a signing team to forfeit a draft pick.
The Dodgers appear set in the bullpen with League, Howell, Kenley Jansen, Javy Guerra and Matt Guerrier. They've already shown a willingness to spend even when they appear set, however, as they've added Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu despite already having Clayton Kershaw, Josh Beckett, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang in tow.
Soriano, 33, pitched to a 2.26 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings for the Bombers in 2012. He also racked up 42 saves following injuries to Mariano Rivera and David Robertson. The strong season prompted Soriano to opt out of his three-year contract, reportedly in search of a new four-year deal on the free agent market.
Four years seems to be an unlikely outcome at this point, though Soriano only needs to sign for more than $14MM to obtain more than the salary he opted out of. Agent Scott Boras recently discussed Soriano's situation with ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
