Joakim Soria, who is one of the best relief pitchers on the market, is looking for a contract worth approximately $27 million over three years according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.
The Mets are in need of another shutdown pitcher to pair with Jeurys Familia, and Soria looks like a perfect fit. Over the course of his career, Soria has been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball and his success continued in 2015 with the Tigers and Pirates.
In 67 innings this season, he had a 2.53 ERA and 1.09 WHIP while striking out 64 batters. He also posted a solid 3.25 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 2014.
At 31 years old, he isn’t quite as dominating as he was in his days as the Royals’ All-Star closer. However, he still is an extremely effective reliever, and has recovered just fine since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2012.
The $9 million a year for a reliever of his caliber doesn’t seem too unreasonable and he will certainly fill a critical void for the Mets. He should be one of the team’s top targets for the 8th inning role, and he might even provide a better value than Darren O’Day, who is reportedly seeking a four year deal.
