Rafael Soriano

Dominican baseball player

Rafael Soriano (born December 19, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Chicago Cubs. Soriano was an All Star in 2010. That year, he also led the American League (AL) in saves, and was named the winner of the Delivery Man of the Month Award for May, July, and August, and the AL Rolaids Relief Man Award in the postseason.

Soriano was born in San José de los Llanos, Dominican Republic. He lived in Boca Chica. By age 8, he played in weekly baseball tournaments in Santo Domingo. However, his mother, Magali, who worked as a housekeeper, often could not afford the twenty dominican 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. Soriano was not well connected to Dominican trainers, who fed information to the most prominent Major League Baseball scouts. Instead, he learned to play baseball through his uncles and his own determination. Soriano attended the Dominican baseball academy of the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 16, but they opted not to sign him. However, Soriano was able to throw as fast as in Arizona. Chaves, working as Everett's pitching coach, helped Soriano with his development. For Everett, Soriano recorded 83 strikeouts and a team leading 3.11 earned run average (ERA) in 75 1/3 innings pitched. He was promoted to the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League later in the season. Between San Bernardino and San Antonio, Soriano pitched to a 2.82 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 137 1/3 innings in 2001. However, his arrival in the United States was delayed for three months due to difficulty securing a visa. After making his second relief appearance, the Mariners added Soriano to the team's starting rotation. Teammate Freddy García nicknamed Soriano "El Silencioso", meaning "The Silent One", for his propensity to retreat from his teammates, speaking only to family by phone. Soriano spent the rest of the season in San Antonio, where he focused on improving his changeup and slider. Going into the 2003 season, Baseball America rated Soriano the 27th best prospect in baseball. 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 from Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero. He was released from the hospital the following afternoon.

Soriano was traded to the Atlanta Braves from the Mariners on December 7, 2006, in exchange for left handed pitcher Horacio Ramírez. 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 the setup man to closer Bob Wickman. Soriano became the Braves closer after Wickman was designated for assignment in August. He earned his first save since May 10 on August 30. Soriano was suspended for four games on September 20 after hitting Dan Uggla with a pitch. The suspension was reduced to two games after appeal. He finished his first season as a Brave with a 3–3 record and 3.00 ERA. Soriano signed a two year contract with the Braves worth US$9 million on January 24, 2008. 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 the Tampa Bay Rays on December 10, 2009, for Jesse Chavez.

Soriano won the Delivery Man of the Month Award for May 2010, and July 2010, becoming the first pitcher to earn that honor twice in one season. He won the award a third time for August 2010, joining Joe Nathan and Trevor Hoffman as the only three time winners of the monthly award. He was named to the 2010 Major League Baseball All Star Game to replace an injured Mariano Rivera. On August 23, 2010, in the ninth inning of game against the Los Angeles Angels, Soriano threw an immaculate inning, striking out all three batters on nine total pitches. He became the sixth major league pitcher to record a save while doing so. Soriano led the American League in saves at the end of the 2010 season, with 45. Soriano finished eighth in the 2010 AL Cy Young Award voting.

The Yankees signed Soriano to a three year, $35 million contract on January 18, 2011. Soriano was originally designated as the set up pitcher to closer Mariano Rivera. He picked up his first save as a Yankee against the Blue Jays on April 20, 2011. He recorded his first loss, and gave up the tying and winning runs as a Yankee on April 26. 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 of David Robertson and Rivera. After Rivera was injured for the 2012 season shagging fly balls at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas 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.

On January 15, 2013, Soriano and the Washington 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 and José Valverde with 138). The deal became official on January 17. 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. 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.

The Chicago Cubs signed Soriano to a minor league contract on June 9, 2015, with a prorated $2 million salary. 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 the Toronto Blue Jays. 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. Soriano made his retirement official on March 20.

Soriano's primary pitch is a four seam fastball in the 91 94 mph range. He pairs it with a sharp slider in the low to mid 80s. Although he used to fairly frequently throw a two seam fastball and cut fastball, these pitches seem to have mostly disappeared from his repertoire by 2012. He has been referred to as very "deliberate" with his pitching style.

Soriano engages in charity work in his native Boca Chica. He has given money to children to receive surgery, and often buys Christmas presents for the local children.