Joakim Soria is going home. Early Monday morning, the Royals and Soria’s representatives shook hands on a lucrative three-year, $25MM deal that includes a mutual option for a fourth season. Prior to signing with Kansas City, Soria also drew interest from a group of teams that includes the Mets and Diamondbacks, MLBTR has learned. The Tigers, Giants, and Twins – who were previously known to have a fondness for Soria – were also among the clubs to show interest.
The Mets’ interest in Soria is particularly notable because assistant GM John Ricco recently explained that the team wasn’t in on Darren O’Day or Ryan Madson due to their high price tags.
“We didn’t see ourselves playing in that top end where O’Day was,” Ricco said earlier this week. “But I think that next tier, we’re going to be keeping an eye on….We’re going to meet with a lot of the representatives for the relievers here over the next couple of days.”
Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reports about Arizona’s plans for bolstering the bullpen. Back in November, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that Arizona seemed “intent on acquiring a closer” while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said that the team was probably “content” to add arms in front of Brad Ziegler. The D’Backs went on to make a push for Aroldis Chapman before he was sent to the divisional rival Dodgers, but their interest in Soria would indicate that they are willing to spend on the bullpen.
Out goes Soria, in comes Holland. Out goes Holland, in comes Soria. The Royals are maintaining the bullpen dominance. The formula works.
mets in on brandon phillips? neil walker?