Scott Boras strongly hinted that Rafael Soriano will opt-out of his contract with the Yankees and become a free agent this offseason, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. The agent said he still has to have further conversations with the team before finalizing plans, but the Yankees are unlikely to offer an extension.
“There is a strong chance that he would have tremendous value as a free agent,” said Boras. Sherman notes that big market clubs like the Angels, Dodgers, Nationals, Red Sox, Giants, and Tigers could all be in the market for a high-end closer this winter.
Soriano, 32, pitched to a 2.26 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings this season. After Mariano Rivera went down with a season-ending knee injury in mid-May, he stepped in at closer and went 42 for 46 in save chances. Soriano signed a three-year, $35MM contract with the Yankees prior to 2010 and has the right to opt-out of the final year. He would be walking away from a $14MM guarantee in favor of a potential multiyear contract.
Sherman says Soriano and Boras have until three days after the end of the World Series to exercise the opt-out clause, and the Yankees would likely make him a qualifying offer to ensure they receive draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere. We first heard that Soriano was likely to opt-out last month, and team president Randy Levine indicated that they want to keep the reliever in New York.
Why would Washington be in the market for a high end closer with both Storen and Clippard still under contract?
Washington, Philly and Atlanta having such good closers is exactly why the Mets should get him
Citris, I definitely see your point there. Frank Francisco was way too inconsistent and the Mets need all the help that they can get in their bullpen.
Yes, so the Mets can take themselves from 70 wins to 75. That would be a huge waste of money. Use it to max out on your rookie picks and international signings instead.
last year the Mets bullpen blew over 20 games, this clearly led to their offensive struggles once the players realized the bullpen was just going to blow every lead. So if they don’t put some good arms there then they are just wasting the 100M they already are going to spend this year
I agree that the Mets do need a good closer, but not at that price. They aren’t in the position to allocate their money incorrectly.
While I agree with you about the Bullpen, can’t see Alderson adding at least another $15MM to the payroll for a closer. The Mets have almost $49MM tied up in Santana and Bay alone. Their biggest priority is finding an outfield that can hit and field adequately.
Maybe Boras owes Rizzo a favor for the Werth contract. :p
I think that the most likely choice in this scenario would be the Giants. Is Brian Wilson going to come back at 100%? I think the Dodgers have a future with Kenley Jansen as the closer, and the Nationals I definitely can’t see with their 1-2 punch of Clippard and Storen. I could also see the Red Sox becoming a player for Soriano. Aceves was too inconsistent and the Red Sox need to show their fans that they are serious about winning again. It’ll be between the Giants and the Red Sox.
mets should be all over him
If he does opt out, Boras will probably wait until the final game of the World Series to announce it. After all, that worked so well for him in 2007 with that fraud Alex Rodriguez
2009 World Series.
That “Fraud” has had a better career than anyone in the History of the Red Sox (Ted Williams aside)
You mean financially, right?
No. I mean stats wise. I bet A-Rod would have had even better career numbers if he would have been traded to the Red Sox in 2004. Fenway is a paradise for Righties.
Fraud? 7th all time for RBI’s, 5th all time homeruns, 17th all time for WAR.
Just playing devil’s advocate here, but IF he had been on steroids most of his career, as some people seem to believe, wouldn’t those rankings make him a huge fraud?
There were over 100 other players on the list… your point?
The point being that a fraud is someone who portrays themselves to be something they aren’t, correct? So on the assumption that steroids increases your natural playing ability, the steroids are making you something you aren’t. Hence being a fraud. I’m not pointing out and saying Alex Rodriguez was using steroids, and I’m sure there were lots of other players that were using steroids. I’m just merely pointing out that using steroids does indeed make you a fraud, by definition.
I love the “opt out” a lot of these players demand. They get a team to offer them a boat load of money for a boat load of years and then they feel that they need more after a couple years. I wish baseball would limit the amount of years teams could offer contracts to players so that this couldn’t be an option. Got to love greed.
Alright guys just saying, my comment was supposed to be a snarky reference to 2007 when Alex Rodriguez opted out during the 7th inning of Game four of the 2007 World Series, and he was heavily critisized for taking the attention off the World Series and putting it on himself, hurting his public image further. It worked out well for him financially, sure. But it was a bonehead move.
Mo has not been clear on if he is coming back or not. When he was first injured he stated that he would come back. But later stated he was not sure. I would love if Mo came back but if he retires we need Soriano back as closer.
I disagree. The Yanks’ pen runs deep with Robertson, Chamberlain, Logan, Aardsma, Rapada, and Eppley. None of these are scrubs.
Oh come on Boras! You did such a good job for Ryan Madson, I am sure you will do a better job for Soriano.
That Scott Boras is one funny guy!
Johnny Damon, is that you again?
His contract for 2013 is 14 million , too rich for Hal.
Boras would be doing the Yankees a favor. Without running down Soriano, the initial signing was ill-advised, and even the Yankees don’t have a infinite budget. I really doubt they would sign him for 2014 anyway.
Smart. Worked great for Ryan Madson.
Yes! now the Yankees have an additional 13m to spend! If Mariano doesn’t come back. Robertson becomes the closer and sign another reliever like Mike Adams to be the 8th inning guy.
All signs point to Mariano coming back. If anything, they should look to put the money towards someone like Dan Haren assuming the Angels don’t pick his option up.
I like the Idea.
I think they should go in on Haren on a short deal anyways. I think that worst case he will slot into the backend, with the potential to be so much better.
No its still money off the books. If Rivera doesnt come back the Yankees save even more.
Yankees would be nuts not to resign him. They can afford to outbid. Mariano will inevitably decline if he even comes back…think about Rivera setting up for Soriano that maybe the ticket that makes most sense moving forward for the Yanks
That thought is forbidden. Wash your mouth and mind out with soap right now. Mo will close as long as he wants.
And now back to reality.
You’re right, they can afford to outbid. If this was George’s Yankees, they would. But it’s not, Cashman has repeatedly said they are trying to lower payroll, you’ll also recall that he was against the signing to begin with. I could be wrong, but I say the Yankees are going to let him walk.
I feel like I’ve heard this before about Cashman wanting to lower the payroll, and then the yankees start getting knocked out of the playoffs and then they go on a spending spree to appease the fans and the media. Cashman may want to lower payroll, but I don’t recall the ownership necessarily agreeing with that when they don’t see the results they want.
What a terrible idea. Good luck making more than $14M/per.
It;s about cashing in on a multi year deal after this good season , not about making a higher yearly average , he won;t be the closer next year on the Yanks so it’s actually a very smart idea.
As stated, the idea isn’t about topping 14mil on an average annual value, as much as it’s about getting a new long-term deal. Get another 3/35 commitment from someone while you can. There’s good reason to think his value will be higher this year then next offseason anyways, he’s closing now (in place of an injured Mariano) rather then setting up for a healthy Mariano next year, and probably a better market for a closer with so many big market teams having at least some level of interest in the closer position. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees were the one giving out that contract since he’s proven to be a decent successor to Rivera and they’ve shown a willingness to pay both. Plus, next year is likely Marianos last year so his deal will be off the books for the all important 2014 anyways.
If you really think he’s pulling another 3/35, I don’t know if you have the capabilities to make analytical decisions.
If you think 3/35 isn’t possible, you have no business talking about baseball contracts and definitely no business criticizing others’ opinions about them.
If Yankees gave him a qualifying offer, I’d imagine that would significantly decrease his value. I can’t imagine too many teams interested in giving up a 1st round pick along with 10M+ per year.
Boras should go on Comedy Central. Gee teams must be lining up to pay him as much as Papellbon. Steve even the Yankees are getting money smart.
Boras would be doing Cashman a huge favor by encouraging Soriano to opt out! The Yankees don’t need a $14MM closer who’s average at best. Even if Rivera retires, it’s a good move to have Soriano opt out for several reasons. There will be several RPs available including guys like Madson, Wilson, and others returning from injury. They have a good internal option in Robertson who costs significantly less than $14MM/yr. Then, Cashman can use the saved money to pick up Granderson’s option or Cano’s option.
With the goal of staying under $189MM per year, this opt out by Soriano via Boras is truly just what this Yankee team needs!!
When I saw the headline I immediately thought it was Alfonso and was like “WHAT HE HAS AN OPT OUT?!?!” glad I read past the heading.
Good luck making double digit millions with this CBA.
its a pretty obvious choice. decline option, take 1.5MM buyout.
if he’s offered a qualifying offer, Boras should advise him to accept the offer, and gets 14.8MM in total with the yankees (13.3MM QO + 1.5MM buyout).
if he’s not offered a QO, be the sole elite closer available on the FA market and get a lucrative multi year deal from somebody. most of the could-be FA elite “closers” have club options that will be picked up.
the only way he gets less than the 14MM is if he declines a qualifying offer and goes on the free agent market tied to draft compensation, and i doubt Boras lets that happen.
The Dodgers or Angels seem to be the best options for Soriano!
yup lets throw away 14 million dollars
This offseason just got a little better..
In all likelihood the Pirates will put Joel Hanrahan on the trading block as he’ll be due around $7 mill in arb this time, which is rich for the Pirates. That could easily influence how much anyone is willing to pay Soriano.