The Yankees rolled out the red carpet for Rafael Soriano yesterday, a week after pulling the rug out from under Brian Cashman.
Appearing at the Soriano press conference, the Yankees general manager made his first comments since being overruled by ownership on signing Soriano. The Yankees agreed to a three-year, $35 million contract with the reliever last Thursday despite Cashman’s opposition.
In the end, owner Hal Steinbrenner felt the Yankees had a hole in the bullpen that Soriano could plug.
“I didn’t recommend [signing Soriano] because I didn’t think it was an efficient way to allocate the remaining resources we had,” Cashman said. “My plan would be patience and waiting. They, obviously, acted. We’re better, there’s no doubt about it. It’s not a dispute over the player whatsoever. He is going to help us. We are better with Soriano, there’s no doubt about that. It’s all the other stuff wrapped around the deal — the money, allocating closer-type money to an eighth-inning situation, those types of things.
“Ultimately, Hal is charged with making a final call on what he feels is the best direction and Hal made that call.”
Cashman said he did not participate in the negotiations with Soriano, but he was aware they were going on.
With his contract expiring after this season, Cashman said this episode does not change how he feels about working for the Yankees or the Steinbrenners.
“It’s a part of business,” Cashman said. “This is Hal Steinbrenner’s and his family’s franchise. This is not mine. It’s never been, and I never want to make it feel like it is. I’m charged with making recommendations.
“There’s a chain of command and it certainly was followed,” he said. “This was not something that was done without me being aware of it. I had my say. I think for most of the winter Hal was on board with that. Toward the end . . . ultimately this all leads to the Cliff Lee situation. We waited on Cliff, which was at my direction.”
When the Yankees missed on Lee, who signed with the Phillies, the Yankees were left with a large amount of money to spend and holes in the starting rotation and in the bullpen. Cashman argued for patience in hopes that a starter might become available on the trade market, but ownership felt the need to grab Soriano to give the Yankees a lockdown bullpen and an insurance policy if anything happens to Mariano Rivera.
Soriano, 31, said he will not have a problem shifting from the closer’s role to setting up Rivera. Soriano had an AL-best 45 saves for the Rays last year.
“I don’t think it’s going to be different,” Soriano said in Spanish. “I’ll be ready to pitch the eighth inning. I think it’s important to pitch the eighth inning as it is in the ninth inning. I will be prepared for that situation.”
His contract contains opt outs after the first two years if he decides he rather would be a closer somewhere else.
Both he and his agent Scott Boras said the hope is that he will pitch for the Yankees beyond this contract. Soriano said the opt out was Boras’ idea, but he is happy it’s there.
“One of the greatest things about this contract is if at any given time I don’t feel comfortable I can always get out of the contract,” Soriano said. “That was [Boras’] decision and I think it was a good decision.”