Royals closer Joakim Soria has recently said to Mexican newspaper Vanguard he would not exercise his no-trade clause if a deal were in place with the Yankees.
It must be noted that he also said he was open to playing on other teams, essentially anywhere. However, the big news involved in this is that he would be willing to go to New York without a guaranteed closer job.
Soria is well aware that Mariano Rivera is the Yankee closer for at least two more years, and it seems like he would be okay with a setup role that later on would likely turn into the closer role with the Yankees.
Soria, 26, earned $3 million in 2010 and would be a great deal for New York. The biggest question for the Yankees is, what will it take? Will the Royals demand Jesus Montero?
In my opinion, a great package would involve Joba Chamberlain, Eduardo Nunez and a third player. Chamberlain would fit well because the Royals would need another arm after losing Zack Greinke and Soria. Nunez would be a good fit because he is a major league-ready infielder that would fit well into the Royals’ plan to get younger and cheaper.
However, just the two of these players most likely would not get a deal done, and it is likely that Kansas City would request Montero or maybe Brett Gardner be included in the deal. The Royals have inquired about Gardner in the past, and there are probably very few teams who would turn down Montero.
My hope would be a deal that would get it done without Gardner or Montero, but it seems like they are highly likely trade pieces.
What are your thoughts? If you have ideas about possible trade packages, submit them in the comments section.
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