| Rafael Soriano | |
|---|---|
 Soriano with the Washington Nationals in 2014 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1979-12-19)December 19, 1979 (age 45) San José de los Llanos,Dominican Republic | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 10, 2002, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 30, 2015, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 24–28 |
| Earned run average | 2.89 |
| Strikeouts | 641 |
| Saves | 207 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Rafael Soriano (born December 19, 1979) is a Dominican former professionalbaseballpitcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theSeattle Mariners,Atlanta Braves,Tampa Bay Rays,New York Yankees,Washington Nationals, andChicago Cubs.
Soriano was anAll-Star in 2010. That year, he also led theAmerican League (AL) insaves, and was named the winner of theDelivery Man of the Month Award for May, July, and August, and the ALRolaids Relief Man Award in the postseason.
Soriano was born inSan José de los Llanos,Dominican Republic. He lived inBoca Chica. By age 8, he played in weekly baseball tournaments inSanto Domingo. However, his mother, Magali, who worked as a housekeeper, often could not afford the twentydominican pesos it cost for him to make the trip. Soriano would sometimes perform chores for the team's manager, who would then pay for the trip.[1]
Soriano was not well connected to Dominican trainers, who fed information to the most prominentMajor League Baseballscouts. Instead, he learned to play baseball through his uncles and his own determination. Soriano attended the Dominican baseball academy of theSt. Louis Cardinals at the age of 16, but they opted not to sign him.[1]
Soriano stopped training full-time and dropped out of school at 16 to work full-time in acarpentry shop. A friend told Soriano that he had signed a contract with theHiroshima Carp, a team in theCentral League ofNippon Professional Baseball, which had a Dominican academy inSan Pedro de Macorís. After training with the Carp for three months, the team found out that at 16, Soriano was too young to sign. Soriano refused to falsify his documents, and he left the Carp training facility, returning to work.[1]
Ramón de los Santos, working as a scout for theSeattle Mariners, received a tip from an acquaintance about Soriano. After watching Soriano play for twelve minutes, de los Santos signed Soriano for a $5,000signing bonus as anoutfielder, figuring that with his strong throwing arm, Soriano could be converted into a pitcher. After a year and a half in Seattle's organization, playing for theArizona Mariners of theRookie-levelArizona League, Soriano struggled as an outfielder, batting .167 in 1998, his second year in Arizona.[2] Heading intospring training in 1999, Soriano prepared himself for the possibility that Seattle would release him, at which point he planned to return to the Dominican Republic to work.[3]
However, Soriano was able to throw as fast as 95 miles per hour (153 km/h) in Arizona.[1]Rafael Chaves, who worked with Soriano in Arizona, suggested that the Mariners convert Soriano into a pitcher. Throwing in the bullpen, Soriano was able to throw between 87 and 90 miles per hour (140–145 km/h), which they figured would improve when he learned proper pitching mechanics.[3] The Mariners assigned Soriano to theEverett AquaSox of theClass A-Short SeasonNorthwest League in 1999.[4] Chaves, working as Everett'spitching coach, helped Soriano with his development.[2] For Everett, Soriano recorded 83strikeouts and a team-leading 3.11earned run average (ERA) in75+1⁄3innings pitched.[3]
Soriano pitched for theWisconsin Timber Rattlers of theClass AMidwest League in 2000. With Wisconsin, Soriano had an 8-4win–loss record and a 2.87 ERA.[3] The Mariners optioned him to theSan Bernardino Stampede of theClass A-AdvancedCalifornia League the next year.[5] He was promoted to theSan Antonio Missions of theClass AATexas League later in the season.[6] Between San Bernardino and San Antonio, Soriano pitched to a 2.82 ERA with 151 strikeouts in137+1⁄3 innings in 2001.[3]
Before the 2002 season,Baseball America ranked Soriano the 30th best prospect in baseball.[7] However, his arrival in the United States was delayed for three months due to difficulty securing avisa.[3] Soriano made his major league debut with the Mariners on May 10, 2002, recording asave in the game.[8] After making his second relief appearance, the Mariners added Soriano to the team'sstarting rotation.[9] TeammateFreddy García nicknamed Soriano "El Silencioso", meaning "The Silent One", for his propensity to retreat from his teammates, speaking only to family by phone.[1] After pitching in ten games for the Mariners, pitching to a 0–3 win–loss record with a 4.56 ERA in47+1⁄3, Soriano went on thedisabled list with a sore shoulder on July 10. When the Mariners activated him in August, they optioned him to San Antonio.[10] Soriano spent the rest of the season in San Antonio, where he focused on improving hischangeup andslider.[11]
Going into the 2003 season,Baseball America rated Soriano the 27th best prospect in baseball.[7] He competed for a spot in the Mariners' starting rotation during spring training.[11] He started the season with theTacoma Rainiers of theClass AAAPacific Coast League. After an effective 2003 season, Soriano suffered a tornulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, and underwentTommy John surgery on August 17, 2004.[12]
Soriano returned to the Majors on September 10, 2005. Soriano suffered a concussion on August 29, 2006, after being struck behind the ear by a line drive hit fromAngels sluggerVladimir Guerrero.[13][14] He was released from the hospital the following afternoon.[15][16]
Soriano was traded to theAtlanta Braves from the Mariners on December 7, 2006, forleft-handed pitcherHoracio Ramírez.[17] In an offseason article,ESPN explained why they believed that Soriano was a significantly better player than Ramirez. Soriano had a mixed bag of success and disappointment in his first season in Atlanta, primarily serving as thesetup man tocloserBob Wickman. Soriano became the Braves closer after Wickman was designated for assignment in August. He earned his firstsave since May 10 on August 30.
Soriano was suspended for four games on September 20 after hittingDan Uggla with a pitch.[18] The suspension was reduced to two games after appeal.[19] He finished his first season as a Brave with a 3–3 record and 3.00ERA. Soriano signed a two-year contract with the Braves worth US$9 million on January 24, 2008.[20]
That offseason, the Braves offered Soriano arbitration, expecting that he would decline and test free agency. However, Soriano surprised the Braves and accepted arbitration. The Braves then traded Soriano to theTampa Bay Rays on December 10, 2009, forJesse Chavez.[21]
Soriano won theDelivery Man of the Month Award for May 2010,[22] and July 2010, becoming the first pitcher to earn that honor twice in one season.[23] He won the award a third time for August 2010, joiningJoe Nathan andTrevor Hoffman as the only three-time winners of the monthly award.[24] He was named to the2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game to replace an injuredMariano Rivera.[25]
On August 23, 2010, in the ninth inning of game against theLos Angeles Angels, Soriano threw animmaculate inning, striking out all three batters on nine total pitches.[26] He became the sixth major-league pitcher to record asave while doing so.[27][28] Soriano led the American League in saves at the end of the 2010 season, with 45. Soriano finished eighth in the 2010 ALCy Young Award voting.
The Yankees signed Soriano to a three-year, $35 million contract on January 18, 2011.[29] Soriano was originally designated as the set-up pitcher to closerMariano Rivera.[30] He picked up his first save as a Yankee against theBlue Jays on April 20, 2011.[31] He recorded his first loss, and gave up the tying and winning runs as a Yankee on April 26.[32] On July 30, Soriano pitched his first game since coming off the DL, throwing a scoreless 9th inning, striking out 2 in a 17–3 blowout win vs. the Baltimore Orioles.
Soriano had spent most of his Yankee career as the 7th inning pitcher in front ofDavid Robertson and Rivera. After Rivera was injured for the 2012 season shagging fly balls atKauffman Stadium inKansas City, Robertson was slated for the closer role and Soriano the 8th. After closing two games, Robertson himself was temporarily injured, allowing Soriano an opportunity to close again where he thrived, converting his first 12 straight save opportunities. He finished with 42 saves in 46 opportunities. Soriano opted out of the final year of his contract on October 31, 2012, making him a free agent.[33]
On January 15, 2013, Soriano and theWashington Nationals agreed to a $28 million, two-year contract, pending a physical. The deal came with a vesting option in 2015 if he finished 120 games. Only two active pitchers did that in the 2011-2012 combined seasons (Craig Kimbrel with 120 andJosé Valverde with 138).[34][35] The deal became official on January 17.[36] In 2013, Soriano recorded 43 saves with a 3.11 ERA, but blew a career high six saves. His strikeout rate fell from 9.2 in 2012 to 6.9 in 2013. Soriano's hits per nine innings also regressed, but not as severely.[37] Soriano's 2014 season began well, as he produced a 0.97 ERA in the first half. However, after the All Star break Soriano tallied a 6.98 ERA, before being removed from the closer role on September 9.[38] He became a free agent following the season on October 31.
On June 9, 2015, Soriano signed a minor league contract with theChicago Cubs, the contract came with a prorated $2 million salary.[39] He was called up to the major league roster on July 20. He was designated for assignment on September 1 and released on September 4.
On February 28, 2016, Soriano signed a minor league contract with an invite to spring training with theToronto Blue Jays.[40] Due to visa issues, he was unable to join the Blue Jays for spring training. On March 17, it was reported that Soriano had decided to retire.[41] Soriano made his retirement official on March 20.[42]
Soriano's primary pitch was afour-seam fastball in the 91-94 mph range. He paired it with a sharpslider in the low-to-mid 80s. Although he initially would regularly throw atwo-seam fastball andcut fastball, these pitches seem to have mostly disappeared from his repertoire by 2012.[43] Soriano was also a relatively slow worker on the mound, ranking among slowest 10 percent of pitchers in pitch tempo from 2010 to 2015, according to Statcast, though he did not slow down significantly with men on base.[44]
Soriano engages in charity work in his nativeBoca Chica. He has given money to children to receive surgery, and often buys Christmas presents for the local children.[1]
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