Soriano Signing Fills The Draft Pick Pool

 (I wonder if he smiles at the Nats' presser.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Just as things were starting to look bleak for old Sour Puss, Scott Boras worked his magic again and got another team who felt they needed bullpen help to overpay for his client.  According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, the Washington Nationals have agreed to sign Rafael Soriano to a 2-year/$28 million deal with an option for a third year.  In almost identical fashion to how he hooked the Yankees after his brilliant 2010 closing campaign in Tampa, Soriano parlayed an excellent year into another big contract.  You gotta give credit where credit's due; he and Boras knew what they were doing after all.

The best Yankee-centric news to come out of this development, besides ending all the discussion about what we'd be willing to pay to take Soriano back, is the guarantee of a second supplemental 1st-round pick in this year's MLB draft.  Paired with the pick the Yankees would have already had and the supplemental pick they get for Cleveland signing Nick Swisher, the Yankees are now holding 3 of the first 32 picks in the draft.  Right now those picks would be the 27th, 30th, and 32nd, with the possibility of them shifting depending on where Kyle Lohse and Michael Bourn end up signing.

From a prospect perspective, since that's what this week is all about, this is a big opportunity for the Yankees to add some depth and high-ceiling talent to their farm system.  They haven't had much success with their most recent 1st-rounders, reaching for Cito Culver and Dante Bichette, Jr. only to watch both of them stagnate in Low-A ball in 2012, and it's still too early to make a solid call on Ty Hensley, who raised some eyebrows post-draft with the reports of his "shoulder abnormality."  That, combined with the injury and regression struggles of the organization's upper-level starting pitching, has created another talent void in the system, a void that can start to be filled by scoring in this year's draft.

The Yankees played the qualifying offer game correctly and have been rewarded for it with more picks and a bigger draft spending pool.  I know they're drafted heavily on makeup and intangibles the last few years, but this year might be the year to put that aside a bit and go for the big talent.  They don't all need to be home runs, but the Yankees have to hit big with at least 1 of this year's picks.

On Taking Back Rafael Soriano

 (I wonder if he untucks after every failed contract pitch by Boras.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

As reader Ruben wisely put it on the AB4AR Facebook Page last night, we probably shouldn't feel this good about Scott Boras making a mistake.  But it certainly appears that he has according to this tweet from Bob Klapisch yesterday afternoon.  Klapisch reported that Boras reached out to the Yankees to ask if they'd be interested in bringing Rafael Soriano back on a 1-year deal and that the request was "flatly denied" by the Yankees, keeping a long and painfully slow offseason for Soriano going.

You'll remember that Soriano (and Boras) turned down a $14 million option for this season to test the FA waters after Soriano's great 2012 filling in for Mo, then turned down the $13.3 million qualifying offer the Yankees made.  Now, 2+ months into the offseason with no potential suitors and next to no chatter about him, Soriano and Boras appear to have retraced their steps back to the beginning of their screw-up.  Cash stated before this story came out that he is not looking for more bullpen help, nor should he be, but Boras' request raises an interesting question.  If the market continues to be quiet for Soriano, and his asking price continues to come down, at what point would you make a 1-year offer to him and bring him back for 2013?

Sour Puss To Opt Out? I'll Take It

(He's actually smiling!  I would be too if I was looking at getting another huge deal)

Get your grain of salt ready, considering the source, but Jon Heyman reported yesterday that Rafael Soriano is considering opting out of the final year of his contract after this season.

"There is a good chance Rafael Soriano will invoke his opt-out clause following a season in which he has been a savior for the Yankees, people familiar with the situation say."

Can't really say I blame Raffy if he does make that decision.  $14 mil is a lot of money to walk away from, but Soriano has had a monster year (2.14 ERA, 2.83 FIP, 9.31 K/9 in 59.0 IP, 38-41 in save opps) and there are going to be some deep-pocketed teams in the market for a closer.  He capitalized on his big year in Tampa to get this Yankee contract, why wouldn't he do the same thing after this season?

And from the Yankees' standpoint they really wouldn't be dead in the water without Soriano.  They'll likely get Mo back next season, they'll still have D-Rob, Joba, Boone Logan, and Aardsma out there, and they could use part of that extra $14 mil to fill any leftover bullpen holes.  If Soriano wants to test the FA waters, let him.  Make him a qualifying offer and when the Dodgers throw 3 years/$48 mil at him, take the extra draft pick and walk away.

A Little Love For Sour Puss

By now it should be crystal clear to everybody that I am not, nor have I ever been a Rafael Soriano fan.  He hasn't pitched that great overall since joining the Yankees last season, at least not as well as his monstrosity of a contract would suggest he should be.  Because of that contract, and the fact that nobody in their right mind would give him that much on the open market, he's basically guaranteed to be back on the team as a big financial burden next year.  And he's just really not a very likable guy, definitely not the easiest to root for.

But I'll be damned if old Sour Puss hasn't stepped up the plate and done a bang-up job filling in as the team's closer since Mo and D-Rob went down.  Since becoming the "official" closer on May 10th, here's Soriano's line:

15 App., 13.1 IP, 13 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 12 K

Dave Robertson > Rafael Soriano

(Hey look!  It's the new closer!  Courtesy of Reuters)

The biggest non-Mo talking point since Mo went down with his ACL injury has been who should take his place as closer this season.  It was talked about immediately after the injury was confirmed, it was talked about after D-Rob handled the 9th inning in order in a non-save situation on Friday night, and it was talked about again after he did his normal tightrope walk routine to close out the win last night.  Obviously the only 2 real candidates are Dave Robertson and Rafael Soriano, but I still feel like I have to ask this.  Why is anybody even talking about this in the first plate?  Why is there even cause for a "Robertson or Soriano" discussion?  Did I get transplanted into an alternate reality where Rafael Soriano is a better pitcher than Dave Robertson?  That's the only thing that I can think of that would explain this situation.

It's real simple, people.  Dave Robertson should be the closer.  And the reason he should be the closer is that he's simply a better pitcher and a more effective reliever than Rafael Soriano.  For all the talk about how erratic D-Rob can be and how many walks he issues and how you don't want runners on base in the 9th inning, the fact remains that Robertson has showed a consistent ability over the last 2+ years to get big outs when he needs to get them in a variety of different high-leverage relief situations.  And if you want to talk about walks, let's talk about how before last night Robertson had issued just 3 walks in 12.0 IP this season, good for a 2.25 BB/9 value that was only slightly higher than Mo's 2.16.  Robertson has shown serious improvement in his command and ability to throw strikes and paint corners, and has done it without sacrificing any of the nastiness of his stuff that allows him to rack up his dominant strikeout totals.  If that doesn't work for you, try these nuggets of knowledge on for size.

Sour Puss Makes His ST Debut Today

And he couldn't be more fired up about it!  See?

(Courtesy of MLB.com)

My man is STOKED!!!

P.S.- Classic busy day post right there.  When in doubt, or when without free time, make fun of somebody.