Joakim Soria to Tigers

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Per MLB Trade Rumors...

 

The Tigers have agreed to acquire reliever Joakim Soria from the Rangers in exchange for prospects Jake Thompson and Corey Knebel, Kyle Bogenschutz was first to report on Twitter. Jon Morosi of FOX Sports confirmed that an agreement is in place (via Twitter).

 

With the acquisition of Soria, the Tigers now possess both of the Rangers’ most recent closers (having signed Joe Nathan as a free agent over the offseason). It remains unclear precisely how the late-inning duties will be allocated for Detroit, but regardless the team will now have an additional premium arm to throw into high-leverage situations.

 

Soria, a 30-year-old righty, owns a 2.70 ERA with a spectacular strikeout to walk ratio of 11.3 K/9 against only 1.1 BB/9. Indeed, his FIP stands at a miserly 1.07, which handily leads all pitchers who have thrown at least 30 innings. Other ERA estimators (2.25 xFIP; 1.84 SIERA) concur in Soria’s excellence to date. He is set to hit the open market at season’s end, upon the expiration of the two-year, $8MM deal he signed to join the Rangers after Tommy John surgery led to the end of his tenure with the Royals.