You wanted juicy? You got it. The Chicago Cubs just signed veteran reliever Rafael Soriano to a minor league deal:
Rafael Soriano has a minor league with Cubs. It's for $4.1M prorated base with up to $4M in bonuses for games finished & appearances.
— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) June 9, 2015
Gordon Wittenmyer (I know, right) was first on this, with confirmation from Jon Heyman and others soon after. It sounds like the MiLB part is just to get Soriano back into game shape and routine before they figure out who to dump to accommodate him on the roster. The deal is very reasonable given the veteran closer’s decline in recent years, but the guy still has good stuff and Joe Maddon is familiar with him:
Rafael Soriano pitched for Joe Maddon in 2010 and saved 45 games
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 9, 2015
Given the bullpen volatility due in part to starters not holding their own earlier in the season, and a potential closer roulette, it’s not a bad idea to sign a guy like Soriano and I’m glad the Cubs did it. I wouldn’t count on him to be lights out, but I would expect better stability in the bullpen going forward, at least until Neil Ramirez (who does have his own set of issues) gets back.
UPDATE: Looks like there’s a timetable:
Soriano expected to need about three weeks prep/minor league games before joining Cubs.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) June 9, 2015
Not too bad. Close to the Fourth of July before he’ll be ready, giving them plenty of time to see whether he can still at least get minor leaguers out.
UPDATE 6:12 7:38 PM: Missed this one as I was waiting out the rain for softball (canceled, boo), so via MLB Trade Rumors…
FRIDAY: Soriano’s deal does, in fact, include an opt-out clause that allows him to become a free agent if he’s not in the Majors by the All-Star Game in mid-July, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes.
The Cubs are on the clock, and so is Soriano, to get in game shape and prove that he deserves to be on the major league roster of a still-contending team. How about them apples?
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