MLB

Yankees ready offer, but not one Soriano wants: source

The Yankees plan on making Rafael Soriano an offer today — just not the one he’s looking for.

According to a person familiar with the team’s thinking, both Soriano and Nick Swisher likely will get qualifying offers — worth $13.3 million for one year — by today’s deadline, but neither is expected to accept. If they reject the deals, they will become free agents.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams can make the one-year offers to ensure they get a draft pick if the player winds up signing with another team. The $13.3 million figure is the average of the top 125 salaries in the league and will make the decisions on some of the Yankees’ other free agents trickier.

Hiroki Kuroda, coming off a solid first season in The Bronx, could also receive an offer, but he may look for a multi-year deal, with the Yankees or elsewhere.

Russell Martin, who did not pursue the three-year contract worth roughly $20 million the Yankees discussed in the spring, is another murky situation.

On the open market, Martin most likely would get a two-year contract in the $15 million range following his somewhat subpar season offensively. But he has proven himself to be a valuable commodity to the Yankees and they may have extra money to spend.

Many believe Soriano’s agent, Scott Boras, will look for a long-term deal, causing the right-hander to leave. And Mariano Rivera, although expected to return, is still far from a sure thing. The Yankees continue to wait on him, as well as 40-year-old Andy Pettitte, who also is unsure if he’s coming back in 2013.

If neither closer is in pinstripes next season and the Yankees opt to go with David Robertson to finish games, it would free up around $30 million, which they could use on Martin and perhaps a replacement for Swisher, such as Torii Hunter.

General manager Brian Cashman acknowledged the Yankees’ outfield situation remains undetermined.

If Swisher departs, they figure to use Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner and could debate about Hunter or veterans from last year’s team, Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki.

“We have two center fielders … so everything is fluid,” Cashman said of Granderson and Gardner.

Both Ibanez and Ichiro, though, like Gardner and Granderson, are lefties. And Ichiro, while terrific after coming from Seattle, doesn’t provide much power. He did show, however, he’s not simply a role player, despite being 39 years old.

Ichiro did not hide the fact he enjoyed his time with the Yankees and is said to be willing to wait for the team to sort out the outfield situation.

Ichiro’s agent, Tony Attanasio, said he would definitely be back in the majors next season and is not ready to go back to Japan.

* There will be a former Yankees owner up for the Hall of Fame this year, but it’s not George Steinbrenner.

Jacob Ruppert is among 10 candidates on the ballot for the Hall’s pre-integration committee. Ruppert owned the Yankees from 1915-39, when they won their first six World Series championships.

Candidates need to get at least 75 percent of the vote from the 16-person committee, which will meet at next month’s Winter Meetings in Nashville.