Rafael Soriano, the well-traveled relief pitcher who has spent the last two years with the Washington Nationals, has reportedly found his home for 2015.
Soriano agreed to terms on a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs, the team announced Tuesday:
Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reported the deal was worth $2 million if he pitches half the season, and had another $4 million in incentives.
Manager Joe Maddon recently discussed the reliever's skill set, according to Wittenmeyer:
Me and Raffy have a really good relationship. I haven’t spoken to him. But I like the guy. He knows how to pitch.
The thing I always talked about with him as a closer was he was a guy that didn’t’ just throw the ball 100 mph. He and I used to have a lot of conversations about how we attack certain hitters in a game, because he really sees things. He’d be in the bullpen, and he watches really well, and he’s got definite ideas on how to get out hitters. I’ve always appreciated his pitch-ability.
One of the drawbacks of being an older relief pitcher, even one who has had the success of the 35-year-old Soriano, is that teams shy away from paying them because of the unstable nature of the position.
Soriano has been one of the most consistent relievers, closer or otherwise, since 2012. He's appeared in at least 64 games each season with a 2.84 ERA, 179 strikeouts and 60 walks in 196.1 innings total.
The Nationals took Soriano out of the closer role late in the 2014 campaign after he blew his seventh save of the year, but he rebounded with two scoreless appearances in the division series against the San Francisco Giants.
Soriano has often waited a long time in the free-agency process to make decisions, agreeing to deals with the New York Yankees (2011) and the Nationals (2013) in the middle of January. Those contracts worked out, save for a couple of the usual hiccups that come with relievers.
In 2012, Soriano took over as closer in New York when Mariano Rivera suffered a season-ending knee injury, and he had a 2.26 ERA with 42 saves and 69 strikeouts in 67.2 innings. Considering how big Rivera's shoes are to fill, Soriano's performance was every bit as good.
Despite the fickle nature of the job, teams always value the "proven closer," so Soriano's 207 career saves make him more attractive. He's been around long enough to endure the ups and downs of baseball and has succeeded as a setup man and a closer, so there's little doubt he will strengthen his new team's bullpen.
It's highly possible that Soriano will slide into the team's closing role immediately, but even if he doesn't, expect him to make plenty of appearances as a seventh- or eighth-inning setup man for Chicago.
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