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Detroit Tigers Need To Keep Joakim Soria Beyond 2015

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Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

On Jul. 23, 2014, the Detroit Tigers addressed their season-long bullpen issue by acquiring Joakim Soria from the Texas Rangers in exchange for prospects Jake Thompson and Corey Knebel. Although Soria was sidelined with an oblique injury shortly after coming to Detroit and wasn’t quite at his best down the stretch and in the postseason, the Tigers decided to exercise his $7 million option very early in the offseason.

Less than two months into the 2015 campaign, it is already clear that the Tigers were very wise to bring Soria back.

Although the closer’s role was originally supposed to go to Joe Nathan before he was lost for the season, Soria is now becoming one of the best ninth-inning men the Tigers have had since they became contenders again back in 2006. While the Tigers have had a few memorable performances from their closers in recent memory such as Jose Valverde going 49-for-49 in save opportunities back in 2011 and a strong showing from Joaquin Benoit in 2013, the back end of the bullpen has generally been the team’s biggest Achilles’ heel for quite a while now. Soria is helping change that this year.

Through 22 appearances this season, the 31-year-old has gone 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP while converting 15 saves in 16 opportunities. His 7.17 K/9 may not be the elite 11.72 mark he put up as a member of the Kansas City Royals back in 2009, but it has certainly been good enough to get the job done.

Although the Tigers will have a few other key players hit the free agent market this winter such as Alfredo Simon, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Avila and ace David Price, the Tigers should make it a priority over the offseason to re-sign Soria. They do have a potential replacement in Bruce Rondon, but he is still trying to make his way back to a big league mound for the first time since 2013, and the team may be wise to go with more of a sure thing.

If the Tigers wish to contend beyond 2015, they should stick with a proven closer in Soria, and they could most likely retain him without breaking the bank.

Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google. 

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