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In October of 2012, the Washington Nationals melted down in the Division Series, blowing a ninth inning lead in the fifth game. Drew Storen pitched in four of the five games and could not hold onto the 7-5 Game 5 lead and the Nationals lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 9-7.If the Nationals find themselves in a similar situation in October of 2013, they will be handing the ball to former New York Yankees closer Rafael Soriano. The Nationals signed the Scott Boras client to a relatively low risk two year, $28 million contract, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter.)The deal has an option for a third season if Soriano finishes 120 games over the 2013 and 2014 season. Soriano had little interest in the open market this offseason. According to Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times, Boras tried to get the Detroit Tigers to bring him ...

The Washington Nationals made news today having signed the best free agent pitcher on the market: Rafael Soriano.Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports was the first to report (via Twitter) that the Nationals had reached an agreement with Soriano for two years and $28 million.According to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports Soriano is now the highest paid relief pitcher in all of baseball. His $14 million average annual salary is second only to Mariano Rivera's $15 million per season from 2010 through 2012.Now with Soriano in the fold the Nationals have arguably the deepest bullpen in all of baseball. The team already had Tyler Clippard (37 saves in 2012) and Drew Storen in line to close out games in 2013.The addition of Soriano gives Washington a man whom had 42 saves last season for the New York Yankees and in his last full season as a closer in 2012, 45 ...

The Washington Nationals have bolstered their bullpen by signing former all-star relief pitcher Rafael Soriano, 33, to a two-year, $28 million contract that includes a vesting option for a third season. By signing Soriano, the Nationals lose their first-round pick in the forthcoming first-year player draft. Soriano pitched in the closer role for the New York Yankees in the 2012 season, taking over the position after Mariano Rivera, the career leader in saves, suffered a torn ACL. He recorded 42 saves (third in the American League) and posted a 2.26 ERA. For his career, the 6’1”, 230-pound right-handed pitcher has recorded 132 saves with a 2.78 ERA. Soriano will provide the Nationals with another option for closing out games and help to replenish a bullpen that lost key contributors Sean Burnett, Tom Gorzelanny and Mike Gonzalez in free agency. Last season the Nationals used a combination of Drew Storen and ...

Rafael Soriano's long ordeal on the free-agent market has come to an end.As reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, the veteran closer is signing with the Washington Nationals: Source: Rafael Soriano agrees to two-year, $28M deal with Nationals. Deal contains vesting option for third year. Story coming on Y! Sports.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 15, 2013 Passan also noted that Soriano's option for the 2015 season will vest if he finishes 120 games in 2013 and 2014.Score another one for the mystery team. The Nationals didn't stand out as a target for a big-money closer when the offseason began, but GM Mike Rizzo is clearly sparing no expense to build on what his team established in 2012.As with any deal in baseball, there are winners and losers of Soriano's contract with the Nationals. Let's take a gander.Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Salary and contract information courtesy ...

The market for Rafael Soriano was a very slow one this winter.After opting out of his contract to become a free agent again, teams weren't jumping at the chance to lock up the closer, despite a strong 2012 campaign.On Tuesday, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. the Washington Nationals have signed the former Yankees closer to a two-year deal.  Source: Rafael Soriano agrees to two-year, $28M deal with Nationals. Deal contains vesting option for third year. Story coming on Y! Sports.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 15, 2013   The deal has a vesting option for 2015 worth $14 million, so the deal could be as much as $42 million over three years.Soriano took over for Mariano Rivera in May and was excellent in his role, posting a 2.26 ERA with 42 saves.When Soriano originally signed his three-year, $35 million deal with the Yankees back in January of 2010, his deal included two ...

The Washington Nationals and free-agent closer Rafael Soriano have agreed to a two-year, $28 million contract with a vesting option for a third year. The option vests if Soriano finishes at least 120 games over the first two seasons.Jeff Passan had it first:  Source: Rafael Soriano agrees to two-year, $28M deal with Nationals. Deal contains vesting option for third year. Story coming on Y! Sports.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 15, 2013  The Nationals bullpen seemed to be set prior to the move—aside from lacking a left-handed specialist—with Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen both capable closers.Owner Ted Lerner, however, felt otherwise. He was very much involved in luring Soriano to Washington and was willing to offer the money agent Scott Boras wanted.While it seems to be overkill at first glance, this move is an absolutely stellar one for the Nationals.For starters, they have just acquired an All-Star-level closer who can bring them one ...

Proving that they are willing to do anything it takes to win a championship, the Washington Nationals have signed free-agent relief pitcher Rafael Soriano, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.  Source: Rafael Soriano agrees to two-year, $28M deal with Nationals. Deal contains vesting option for third year. Story coming on Y! Sports.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 15, 2013 UPDATE: Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 6:12 p.m. ET by Tyler ConwayESPN's Jim Bowden has come through with more details on Soriano's deal. Though he'll be paid $28 million by the Nationals, just half of that will come in 2013 and 2014, with the rest being deferred: Nats deal with Rafael Soriano is $7m in 2013, $7m in 2014 and the other $14m is deferred starting in 2018...the aav of deal is approx $11.8m— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) January 15, 2013 For those National fans who worried about Soriano's hefty price, at least this will assuage those concerns ...

The Kansas City Royals have made an unexpected commitment to win in 2013. And if they want to follow through on that commitment, they should take advantage of a weak market for reliever Rafael Soriano.Earlier this month, as reported in many sites including NBCSports.com, the Royals sent Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year, Wil Myers, packing to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis. There were other players involved, but the main pieces of the deal showed that Kansas City was not interested in waiting for more prospects. They needed major league pitching.The Royals were heavily criticized for the trade, including by Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated, who described the deal as a "misguided gamble."But there is no use in utilizing a strategy like this in a half-hearted manner. The Royals have already sacrificed Myers. They have added Shields and Davis to the rotation, ...

Many of MLB's top 2013 free agents have made some surprising moves in the last week, but there still are a few great players left on the major league market.The list is shrinking at a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pace, and these players are sure to find homes soon.Michael Bourn is at the top of the list, with rumors coming from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports that the Dodgers might even consider getting rid of Andre Ethier for the speedy center fielder.Bourn is coming off of his second All-Star season and his most productive since he entered the league. Last year, the journeyman hit nine home runs and 57 RBI, but was a productive defender and aggressive on base.It would be a surprising move, but at this point any place Bourn lands would be shocking, considering deals with the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals went sour after they looked elsewhere.Nick Swisher is still available and ...

The role of closer in Major League Baseball is among the most important in the game.  Closers are constantly relied upon in tough situations, with the game on the line.A good closer can propel a team into the playoffs and to postseason success.  Teams with unreliable stoppers pitching the ninth inning often find themselves struggling in mediocrity and are usually playing golf in October. So who were the five most valuable closers in 2012?Here is a breakdown of the five most valuable ninth-inning saviors from the past season. Begin Slideshow