Free agent Rafael Soriano will not be pursued by Detroit Tigers – MLB Update
Detroit Tigers will not be pursuing free agent closer Rafael Soriano, reports mlive.com. Soriano had an excellent time on the mound last season as he managed to perform brilliantly with 42 saves. He also struck-out 69 batters in 67.2 innings with an exceptional
2.26 ERA.
Soriano had the opportunity to prove his mettle after New York Yankees’ regular closer Mariano went out for the entire season with an injury. He grabbed opportunities with both hands, helping the Yankees emerge victorious in several important games.
Yankees’ Manager Joe Girardi and General Manager Brian Cashman were really impressed with what they saw from Soriano and they made him a qualifying offer as soon as the season ended. However, as Soriano was interested in a long term contract, he rejected
Yankees offer for a one year contract.
Soriano and his agent Scott Boras wanted to test the open market to see if they can grab a four year $60 million contract, several sources claimed. However, not too many Major League Baseball teams are keen on offering him a contract in that range and give
up a draft pick.
According to New York Daily News, a meeting between Boras and Tigers’ owner Mike Ilitch has already taken place but Detroit did not show any interest in acquiring a top notch closer for the next season but that is unlikely to stop Boras from engaging the
club on closer Rafael Soriano. Apart from Mariano, he is arguably one of the best closers in a very slim market that features only half a dozen reputed ninth inning relievers.
"Normally you're not going to thrust that in a young guy's hands and say automatically, 'That's your job,' but it would not surprise me if he earned that job," Dombrowski said of Bruce Rondon.
With closer Jose Valverde not in the pitching rotation for the next season, there are chances the Tigers will sign a closer this offseason but it is unclear what price the Tigers are willing to pay. As of now, it appears the Tiger will bring in youngster
Bruce Rondon from the Minor League to fill in the vacant closing spot. Rondon had an extremely successful season in the Minor League in 2012 and it will be interesting to see if he can get the job done for his team.
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