Kuzul

Bill Madden of the New York Daily News is reporting that Rafael Soriano has a bad attitude and “was hated by almost everyone in Tampa Bay last year.”  Madden says Soriano didn’t like being brought into games in non-save situations or having to pitch more than one inning in a game.

Will this be a problem for the Yankees, or will Soriano toe the line for the Yankees like so many other troubled players have done once they put on the pinstripes?

We’ll have to wait and see, of course. But it looks like the Yankees have prepared themselves for the worst just in case, by giving Soriano two opt-out clauses and by not giving him a no-trade clause. If he opts out, they’ll get their draft pick back. If they want to trade him, it can be to any team.

Hopefully his three-year deal will be a successful one, free of opt-outs and trades.

Good luck, Rafael Soriano.

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I’ll start today’s post with a question.

In light of the Jets’ River & Sunset-approved upset victory over the Patriots on Sunday, has the New York sports scene wrested back control of the rivalry with its Boston counterpart?

The 2004 Series That Shall Not Be Named was a searing victory for Beantown, a comeback momentous enough that it seemed as if it might change the balance of power between the two cities forever.

The Sox went on to win the World Series that season, then did it again three years later; additional championships by the Patriots and Celtics kept Boston riding high.

But the pendulum started to swing in New York’s favor in 2008, when the Giants knocked off the previously unbeaten Pats in Super Bowl XLII; the Yankees got their swagger back by ending a nine-year title drought in 2009; and now you have the Jets, who took out the heavily favored Pats in their building on Sunday and are on the precipice of their first Super Bowl appearance in 42 years.

What does this all mean? Um, nothing I guess.

But if you’re a dorky sports fan like me, this is the stupid stuff you obsess over.

Speaking of obsessing, I’m sort of obsessed with finding out what type of reported “character issues” worried the Yankees before they plowed ahead with the Rafael Soriano signing? Was it cheating-on-his-fiance-while-on-the-road kind of character issue or a killed-a-man-with-his-bare-hands-in-the-Dominican-Republic kind of character issue?

Actually, Bill Madden shined some light on the issue in the Daily News on Saturday. It’s mildly worrisome.

I’ll let Bill explain:

Despite his league-leading 45 saves and 1.73 ERA, Soriano was hated by almost everyone in Tampa Bay last year. His periodic hissy-fits over being brought into games in non-save situations, or being asked to pitch more than one inning wore thin on Rays manager Joe Maddon. The final straw was the last game of the season — Game 5 of the ALDS versus Texas — when Maddon asked Soriano to pitch the ninth inning with the Rays trailing, 3-1. After throwing a tantrum in the bullpen in front of all his fellow relievers, Soriano trudged into the game and promptly gave up a single to Nelson Cruz and a game-breaking homer to Ian Kinsler.

Ladies in gentlemen, your successor to Mariano Rivera as New York Yankees closer!

Of course, the big picture issue with the Soriano signing—which, for the record, I had been on board with for a month—is if it actually tells us anything about a not-so-subtle shift in internal structure of the Yankees.

If the reports are true that this was an executive Hal decision and that the signing went over Cashman’s head (the GM previously told the media he would not give up the No. 1 draft pick it would take to land Soriano or another Type-A free agent), that’s a major shift in the narrative of New York’s front office.

If you recall, when Cashman agreed to stay with the Yankees following the 2005 season, it came with the assurance that he had final say on all personal moves and that the Tampa vs. New York factions that had splintered the organization would die off.

One move doesn’t necessarily mean that Cashman has lost absolute say in how the Yankees are built, but it has to be disconcerting for him as he enters the final year of his contract.

If the Yankees fail to make the playoffs this season, would the Steinbrenners use the failure as a launching point to put a hand-picked general manager in place? Remember, Cashman was George’s boy.

Could Hal be toying with the idea of a fresh start? It’s unlikely, but if Cashman continues to be overridden on player moves, he may walk out by choice.

Keep an eye on this one. It may end up being one of the juiciest subplots of the upcoming season.

Dan Hanzus writes three columns a week on his New York Yankees site, River & Sunset. He can be reached at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @danhanzus.

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Rafael Soriano, the best relief pitcher on the free-agent market this year, has reached a three-year deal with the New York Yankees worth about $35 million. The Yankees have opted for Soriano since their initial interest in Kerry Wood didn’t develop into a deal and they’re better off for it.

Wood’s injury history is well-documented and he struggled mightily in the AL. Despite posting an ERA of 0.69 in 26.0 short innings, Wood also walked 18 hitters and survived due to a strikeout rate reminiscent of his early days as a starter.

Rafael Soriano also has strikeout potential, and though his K’s took a hit last year in the AL East, he still set down 8.2 guys per nine innings. Soriano has not been entirely injury-free in his career, nor has he ever shown the promise that Kerry Wood did in his early days, but it’s hard not to imagine him as a more reliable late-inning arm for the Yankees over the next one-to-three seasons.

The nature of this deal is unusual for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the amount of money Soriano is getting is rather high, to say the least. Non-closer relievers with seven-figure salaries are really unheard of, and while I don’t deny that Soriano is the best relief pitcher to be a free-agent this year, his contract is a product of Scott Boras’ classic high selling and the Yankees’ bottomless wallet. The other strange thing is that Soriano can opt out of his deal after either of the first two seasons.

It’s hard to tell what he’s going to do, but since he was searching for a closers’ job (for four years, no less) he will probably jump ship if he thinks one such job is available. The reason he didn’t get such a deal was because the teams who didn’t already have a reliable ninth-inning guy balked at the asking price, and of the teams who could use a good set-up type (virtually every team), only the Yankees would be willing to dip into their funds to the tune of 10 million or more per year.

Because a number of teams are going to have expensive closers coming off the books after 2011, I wouldn’t be altogether surprised to see Soriano leave after one year in search of a closing job. The Mets, Tigers, and Reds head the list of teams who might be interested. These three teams have been known to spend money on closers. Francisco Rodriguez got 37 million from the Mets over three years and there is no way they pick up his $17.5 million option for 2012. With a lot of silly money coming off the board after 2011, to the tune of at least $48 million, they could offer Soriano a lucrative deal to close games. The Tigers could just resign Jose Valverde, but Soriano is perhaps a slightly better pitcher for an extra four or five million annually. I think the Reds would be willing to think long and hard about replacing Francisco Cordero with Soriano if the option presented itself.

The list of possibilities extends beyond those three teams. The Cardinals have a solid closer in Ryan Franklin—who has been good but probably should not be your team’s best reliever. They should aim to strengthen their bullpen if they have money left over after locking Albert Pujols up for another decade. I think the Phillies are unlikely to pick up their 12 and a half million option on Brad Lidge for 2012 and could just as well put that money toward a few years of Soriano. The Angels will probably aim to strengthen their bullpen and I doubt they think just resigning Fernando Rodney the solution to their late-inning issues. I expect Soriano to have a multitude of options if his 2011 season is productive enough for him to expect a high-paying ninth-inning job elsewhere.

It is not especially unlikely that he pitches well enough, especially considering his stellar 2010 season. Soriano has that great combination of strikeout ability and control, with career K/9 and BB/9 ratios of 9.62 and 2.69 respectively. The strikeouts dipped to 8.23 per nine innings last year, perhaps because the AL East is a tougher division than the NL East or AL West, but

The biggest gripe a Yankee fan should have with Soriano is his fly-ball rate. With only 0.62 grounders per fly and only one season with a ratio of 1.00 or higher, Soriano can be expected to give up a few home runs. He was lucky in 2010 with only 4.8% of fly balls leaving the park and cannot be expected to repeat that. To be fair, he got a rather high percentage of pop ups, as opposed to line drives, but these statistics are somewhat unpredictable.

With his lowered strikeout rate came a lower walk rate. Soriano’s 2.02 walks per nine innings was bested by only 10 relief pitchers with 50 or more innings in 2010. His 2.69 career mark is better than all but 32 relief pitchers with 300 or more innings pitched (as a reliever) over the past fifteen years. His batting average on balls in play was .212, an extremely low figure even for Soriano with his career mark of .256.

He has continuously seen success with his fastball (averaging 92.9 mph in 2010) and his slider. Both have been worth a positive runs above average total for six years running. Soriano started to throw a cutter about 15% of the time in 2010. That worked for him too and might be key to limiting damage from good lefty hitters. I think there may be someone in New York who can help him with the cutter if need be.

There are so many things to like about Soriano in the Yankees bullpen. The results he’s gotten and the stats that underlie these results, such as his above average first-pitch strike rate or his tendency to get guys to swing at pitches out of the zone and miss them, both at rates above MLB average in 2010. In 2010 he posted an FIP of 2.81. That’s probably what we can expect Soriano’s ERA to look like next year.

Another interesting benefit is that Soriano’s deal opens the door for the Yankees to give Joba Chamberlain another shot at the rotation. Joba performed better than people think last year, as his 4.40 ERA hid a FIP of 2.98. Joba’s strikeout rate was up to 9.67 per nine IP and he walked fewer than three per nine for the first time since 2007. His BABIP should be slightly lower and while we cannot expect his talents to perfectly translate from the bullpen to the rotation, he at least deserves another chance. That is, unless the Yankees are comfortable with Sergio Mitre as their fifth starter.

The Yankees needed another good righty for their bullpen. It was good that they made the move for Soriano. Even if they only have him for one year. Even if he doesn’t repeat his brilliance of 2010. The remaining right-handed free agent relievers are minor-league deals waiting to happen. There’s Blaine Boyer and Lance Cormier of the few-strikeouts/many-walks variety. There’s Manny Delcarmen and Juan Cruz of the plenty-of-strikeouts-but-way-too-many-walks variety. Then there are the likes of Kelvim Escobar, Chris Ray and Justin Ducherer who could be good if they weren’t so brittle. The best remaining options are probably Jon Rauch, Chad Durbin, and Chad Qualls, none of whom have the talent or the potential that Soriano has.

This signing was a good one. Soriano, far and away the best relief pitcher available, was worth seven figures annually in an oddly structured deal because it adds depth and talent to the bullpen, could push Joba into another chance at starting, and it gives Soriano a chance to win in 2011 and add to his already impressive resume in anticipation of an opportunity to close in 2012 or beyond. Both sides should be happy.

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Talent needs execution like you and I need air to live and thrive. That’s perhaps an extreme analogy but oh so true.

Joba Chamberlain knows this deep within himself.

This uniquely gifted man, lifted up by expectation that now slides down toward a thoroughly middling career because he can’t quite get a handle on “great” and his grip on “good” is slipping.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. A rock star before his foot went from warning track gravel to the outfield grass on his way in from the bullpen; “Joba” was the one-named flame-thrower who defined hype.

A hype that seemed more than justified in those first two months as Chamberlain struck out 34 and allowed only one earned run in his first 24 major league innings.

The rest is perhaps a cautionary tale.

Dazzled by his early dominance, the Yankees pushed Chamberlain into the starting rotation with caution and delicacy. Inconsistency from the pitcher and from the team with regard to his role followed and by 2010 Chamberlain would return to the bullpen with decidedly mixed results.

Chamberlain doesn’t really have a role on the Yankees staff now. The incredibly gluttonous signing of Rafael Soriano supplanted him from the eighth-inning role, and middle relief is a waste bin.

Some have said the Yankees might look to trade him, but Chamberlain’s value has likely never been lower.

You’d think the team might roll the dice one last time and give Chamberlain a chance to best the unimpressive Sergio Mitre in a fight for the fifth spot in the rotation but as of now you’d seemingly be wrong.

Whether frightened by his inconsistency or perhaps the long-term durability of his shoulder the Yankees contend that Chamberlain’s skill set plays better in the ‘pen.

This is of course there prerogative.

The Yankees have given Chamberlain more opportunities to live up to his heady potential than they are used to and though they earned much of the blame for the lackluster results you can’t blame them entirely.

Whether it’s the first or the ninth inning, amidst screams of adulation or derision it’s been on Chamberlain to live up to our limitless hopes while forsaking our ineffable fears. That he has failed to do exactly that puts his career on the cusp of something seemingly unimaginable three years ago.

Moments of truth are forecast too often in the realm of sports but few demand that trite imagery more than Joba does in 2011. A year filled with waning opportunity, definition and either the strange rise or typical fall of Joba Chamberlain.

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Remember 2007, prior to the midges, when Joba Chamberlain was the golden boy for the Yankees? 

Then, things got Biblical. Bugs attacked the Yankees in Cleveland like something out of the movies, and the untouchable kid, suddenly became very human. 

After that, the Yankees moved Joba back and forth for, back and forth. 2008 saw Joba start the season back in the bullpen. A few months later he was a starter, then bullpen, then starter. It was like a soap opera with all the drama. 

Fast forward to today. Chamberlain is no longer the lights-out setup man he once was. Now, that is Soriano’s role. As of now, Chamberlain is basically splitting time with Roberston as a seventh inning man or a righty-right matchup. Not really what anyone envisioned for the kid a few years back.

On the bright side, he’s still a kid. Joba is only 25, he has plenty of years left ahead of him, and he’s pretty healthy.

There has been talk for a while about trading Joba away, but right now, he wouldn’t bring much back. If the Yankees are going to trade him, the only way it happens is if they get a top-starter in return. That would likely include a package deal, but that’s a whole other story.

Either way I see it, whether the Yankees want to keep him or trade him, the only way things are going to improve for him are in the rotation.

Assuming Pettitte is still retired, the rotation is currently CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and ?. A few days ago I was all for trying out one of the young studs in the minors as the fifth starter, but now, I say give it to Joba.   

I’d prefer to take the chance with putting Joba back in the rotation over signing Justin Duchsherer. Also, a few possibilities may arise out of Joba back as a starter. 1) He can be pretty good. Not great, but good enough for a back-end starter. 2) He can be showcased to other teams to make him more attractive as a trade piece. 

It’s funny how things change in a few years. Two years back, I would have thought the Yankees were crazy to even think about trading Joba, but today, it doesn’t seem too crazy. 

For the meantime, it seems like Joba will be around until at least the trade deadline, until he shows that spark again, or the Yankees include him, Jesus Montero and a few other players in a package for Felix Hernandez. 

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The Yankees made their first “big splash” in the free agent market yesterday, signing former Rays’ closer Rafael Soriano to a three year deal worth $35 million, which does include an opt out clause after each of the first two seasons.

Now obviously, Soriano will not be the closer for the Yankees this year or in 2012. I think Mariano Rivera will probably get the job done, just a hunch though. So that means the Yanks are paying a lot of money and giving up a first round draft pick for a setup man, but I still think it is a good move.

The Yankees for years have searched for a consistent bridge to Mariano in the ninth inning, and they have finally found their man with Soriano, who had an outstanding year in 2010.

Not only did he lead the league in saves, but he had a very impressive 1.73 ERA and a 0.802 WHIP over 62 innings pitched. He also had 57 strikeouts compared to his 14 walks.

The only question I have is will he lose any psychological edge by moving from the closer to the setup man role. We have seen time and time again that when closers are brought in during non-save situations, they tend to get hit around a little more. We will see how that works out.

But if Soriano remains true to form, then the Yankees have made a great signing, because this move takes some of the pressure off of their weaker starting rotation by shortening games. Joe Girardi is going to have no problem pulling A.J. Burnett in the sixth inning and handing the ball to his suddenly strong bullpen.

Now that Soriano is in the mix, the Yankees may have the best bullpen in all of baseball. They added Pedro Feliciano earlier this offseason, teaming him up with Boone Logan to give them two solid left handers in the ‘pen. Plus, they still have Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson, oh, and Mariano Rivera too.

Overall, a great signing in my opinion, and the Yankees still have about $20 million left in their so called “budget” to sign an extra outfielder and likely a cheap, low-risk, high-reward starting pitcher.

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The New York Yankees, asleep for much of baseball’s offseason, have finally made a big move, signing closer Rafael Soriano to a three-year, $35 million deal. Soriano, 31, will serve as the setup man to current Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, and could also replace Rivera should he retire at the end of his current two-year contract.

Under the terms of the deal, Soriano can opt out after both the first and second years of the contract. He will receive $10 million in the first year, with an additional $1.5 million should he opt out. In the second year, he’ll receive $11 million, with an additional $1.5 million if he opts out. In the third year, Soriano will make $14 million.

After losing out on the best free agent pitcher available, Cliff Lee, earlier in the offseason, the Yankees desperately needed to find a way to strengthen their starting rotation. They have yet to sign a starting pitcher, but the addition of Soriano gives them both strength and depth in their bullpen, almost ensuring that any lead they bring into the sixth inning will stand up.

Soriano will join Rivera, along with David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain and Pedro Feliciano to form one of the best bullpens in baseball.

However, despite the tremendous need to improve their team heading into 2011, the Yankees might not be getting the best deal here.

The first thing to look at, of course, is the money. The Yankees are going to pay Soriano closer money to be a setup man.

Soriano led the majors in saves (45) last season, but his agent Scott Boras had said that Soriano would be open to a setup role. Boras called the idea of Soriano setting up for the Yankees “a different scenario” because the Yankees already have the greatest closer in MLB history, Mariano Rivera.

“I don’t think there is a team in baseball where [Soriano] could be asked to be a setup guy other than the Yankees,” Boras said.

In mid-November, the Detroit Tigers signed another reliever, Joaquin Benoit, to a three-year, $16.5 million contract. That deal was certainly going to impact the price tag of Soriano, who is two years younger than Benoit.

The Tigers will pay Benoit an annual salary of $5.5 million per season. And Soriano is getting more than double that amount at $11.6 million?

Even if Soriano takes over for Rivera in the third year of his contract (provided Rivera retires, which it doesn’t appear that he’s ready to do), that’s a hefty price tag for a guy who will only get three outs. And yes, Rivera himself generally only gets three outs each night and he’s getting $15 million per season, but we’re talking about Mariano Rivera here; it might as well be apples and oranges.

Another part of the deal to examine is that Soriano is a Type-A free agent, meaning the Yankees will have to surrender a first-round draft pick. When the question of signing Soriano was raised to Yankees GM Brian Cashman about a week ago, Cashman vehemently said the he was not willing to surrender a draft pick to sign any remaining free agent.

“I will not lose our No. 1 draft pick,” Cashman said, according to the Westchester Journal News. “I would have for Cliff Lee. I will not lose our No. 1 draft choice for anyone else.”

Well, it appears Cashman has had a change of heart, as not only are the Yankees giving up a first round draft pick to sign Soriano, but, as an extension, he has also ensured that the Boston Red Sox will receive a first-round pick for the loss of Adrian Beltre instead of a sandwich pick.

The Yankees needed to sign Soriano, that much was clear. But a first-round draft pick is a first-round draft pick; it’s valuable. If Cashman wasn’t willing to give that up to sign a reliever, even one of Soriano’s ability, that was understandable.

So why the turnaround?

Tough to say. Cashman was contending with a fanbase increasingly frustrated by an uncharacteristic lack of action on the Yankees’ part this offseason. He also might have wanted to take some of the attention away from their questionable starting rotation, which is still unimproved.

From a baseball standpoint, Soriano does help to take some of the pressure off that starting rotation, as having Soriano to setup means that the Yankee starters only have to throw six innings most nights.

Another factor to consider in this deal is that Soriano can opt out of his contract after each of the first two seasons and walk away with big money. If Soriano decides he’d rather be a full-time closer with another team, and walks after the first season, the Yankees will have paid him $11.5 million for a single season of work, which may or may not culminate in a World Series victory.

If the Yankees don’t win anything significant, and by significant I mean the World Series, and Soriano opts out, then what was the point? Big money and a first-round draft pick to have the best eighth and ninth inning relievers in baseball for a season or two?

Not to mention the fact that Soriano’s contract is back-loaded and he’ll make $14 million in the third year. The reason for this is that it sets up Soriano to become the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera as the closer. However, Rivera, even at 40, doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, and if you wanted to bet me that Rivera would retire at the end of his current two-year deal, I’d take that bet.

So, if Rivera doesn’t retire, then there’s no closer role open to Soriano, and he’ll be making even bigger money as a setup man. My guess is that if that happens, and Rivera doesn’t retire, then Soriano will opt out of his contract and go close for another team (the Boston Red Sox perhaps?).

All in all, this was a deal that had to get done. The Yankees needed to make a move after losing Cliff Lee to the Phillies, and even though Soriano isn’t a starter, this move does help the starting rotation by extension.

However, the Yankees need to win with Soriano to make up for the big money and draft pick they surrendered to sign him. Time will tell if this was worth it for the Yankees.

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The 8th and 9th innings are once again in good hands at Yankee Stadium. While the starting rotation may still be a question mark, the bullpen is taking shape.

New York has agreed to sign reliever Rafael Soriano to a three year deal worth $35 million. Soriano was the best relief pitcher on the market this offseason. Last year, the 31-year-old righty led the American League with 45 saves. He finished the year with a 1.73 ERA and .802 WHIP. Soriano struck out 57 batters in 62 1/3 innings as the closer for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Soriano will set-up for current Yankees closer, legend Mariano Rivera. Rivera enters this year with a new contract. With Trevor Hoffman now retired, Rivera will be chasing the All-Time record for saves. Hoffman has 601 while Rivera enters the year with 559.

New York is likely hoping Soriano has enough success with the team that he can eventually take over the closer role when Rivera does retire.

Continue reading the full article at Double G Sports.

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The New York Yankees have have had a rough offseason thus far.

It began with an all too public dispute with free agent SS Derek Jeter, who eventually re-signed with the team, but only after sniping and vitriol were exchanged by the two sides during (and in the aftermath of) negotiations.

Then they were spurned by free agent left-hander Cliff Lee, who took less money than the Yankees had offered in order to accept a return engagement with the Philadelphia Phillies.

And while they were successful in securing free agent Mariano Rivera’s autograph on a contract, they haven’t been so fortunate with southpaw Andy Pettitte, who may hold the fortunes of the organization in his left hand.

These dramas have played out on the back pages of the New York City newspapers at the same time that their mortal rivals, the Boston Red Sox, have enjoyed what is the most productive offseason in franchise history, adding 1B Adrian Gonzalez, OF Carl Crawford and relievers Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler to an already formidable ballclub. Crawford, the Yankees “Plan B” this ofseason, was signed by the Red Sox while Hank Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman fiddled around, awaiting word from Lee—their “Plan A”.

Ridiculed by the papers, maligned by their fan base and surpassed in talent by their arch-rivals to the north, the Yankees began to appear desperate in spite of the protestations to the contrary by their general manager.

Most of the Yankees’ opportunities to improve had been lost to the front office. Aside from Pettitte, the only other of the top ten free agents that remains unsigned is starter Carl Pavano, and they have been there, done that with the former Red Sox farmhand. If they do not re-sign Pettitte or add another impact starter through free agency, two other options are available to the Yankees:

1) sign a free agent setup man and then include Joba Chamberlain in a deal (along with top prospect Jesus Montero and others) for a front-line starter

2) sign a free agent reliever and then rely on the bullpen to compensate for a rotation that will have rookie Ivan Nova and another marginal pitcher at the back end

The best of the free agent relievers that remained available as of yesterday was former Braves and Rays closer Rafael Soriano, who has been seeking a three year deal—preferably to serve as some team’s closer. But the market never materialized for him—in large part due to the fact that he was designated a Type A free agent (requiring the signing team to forfeit a draft pick). In response to recent speculation that the Yankees needed to sign Soriano to act as their 8th inning setup man, a defiant Cashman declared he would not surrender his first round pick for any of the remaining free agents.

Apparently that all changed last night.

In an act that bears all of the hallmarks of pure desperation, the Yankees agreed to a three year, $35 million contract with Soriano, who will serve as Mariano Rivera’s primary setup man. The deal will allow the right-hander to opt out of his contract after either the first or second year of the deal. So, Cashman surrendered his first round draft pick for a player who may turn out to be a one year rental. Wow!

Soriano led the American League in saves last season (45) and will become the highest paid setup man in the history of the game. The cheering you are hearing is coming from the home of free agent southpaw Brian Fuentes, who remains unsigned.

The Yankees don’t care that they have once again hurt the game of baseball ($11.67 M per year for a set-up guy?). They were in desperate straits trying to chart a course for 2011, and so they did what they felt like they had to do.

The bullpen as currently constituted is arguably the best in the game of baseball, with Rivera and Soriano heading up a relief corps that includes Joba Chamberlain, Dave Robertson and Pedro Feliciano, among others. But I have a sense that there is another shoe that has yet to drop…

I cannot imagine the Yankees going into the 2011 season with a payroll in the vicinity of $200 million and a rotation that includes Nova and some as-yet-unidentified journeyman. Maybe Soriano will help convince Pettitte he should pitch for one more year…or maybe he frees up Chamberlain to be dealt. Either way, it seems likely that Steinbrenner and Cashman aren’t done yet.

The betting here is that Pettitte—who desperately wants to win—will finally decide to return to the Yankees to make another run towards a World Series ring.

As for Soriano, he makes the Yankees bullpen a force to be reckoned with and provides the club with an heir-apparent for Rivera.

He was an All-Star last year, going 3-2 with 45 saves and a 1.73 ERA. He allowed just 36 hits in 62.3 innings pitched while striking out 57 batters. He and Rivera combined for a 1.77 ERA and a .173 opponents’ batting average (122.3 IP, 75 hits) last year, to go along with 102 strikeouts and 25 walks. THAT is a formidable tandem.

But there is a downside here for the Yankees: Soriano didn’t miss as many bats last year as he had in previous years (his K-rate decreased by one-third last year), and he is a fly ball pitcher who will now pitch in a ballpark that often resembles an over-sized softball diamond. Caveat emptor, Brian.

Soriano doesn’t make up for losing out on Lee or Crawford, but it’s the best the Yankees could do at this point of the offseason—time will tell whether it was a stroke of genius or a mad act of desperation.

For this and more articles written by Jeffrey Brown, you can visit his website here.

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Jon Heyman of SI.com has reported that free agent closer Rafael Soriano has agree to a 3-year, $35 million deal with the New York Yankees.

The Yankees may have overpaid Soriano, but this is a great move for the Yanks who should have no problem closing out games in the 2011.

The signing of Soriano gives the Yankees probably the best one-two bullpen punch in the league.

Soriano saved an American League leading 45 games out of 48 tries. Soriano also posted a fantastic 1.73 ERA with a 0.80 WHIP. Pair those numbers with the greatest closer of all-time in Mariano Rivera and you have yourself quite a bullpen.

Soriano will serve as the setup man to Rivera for the next two seasons and than will likely take over as the closer if Rivera decides to retire after his 2-year, $30 million contract is up.

Rivera had 33 saves while posting a 1.80 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP in 2010 so having Soriano behind him will make the back of the Yankees’ bullpen dominant.

The Yankees have been searching for an eighth inning man since Joba Chamberlain has not been able to get it done.

Kerry Wood was brought in last season and did a great job but he has moved on to the Chicago Cubs.

The Yankees recently made a move that brought in lefty Pedro Feliciano. The Yankees now have two effective left-handed pitchers in Feliciano and Boone Logan, who posted a 2.93 ERA last season.

Opposing teams in the American League are going to be facing a difficult task in the later innings of games in 2011.

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