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The arrival of Rafael Soriano to the Yankees could lead to the departure of Joba Chamberlain.
Just not yet, according to a source.
When the Yankees agreed to a three-year deal with reliever Soriano on Thursday, it immediately cast doubt on the future of Chamberlain. He had been viewed as Mariano Rivera’s successor after his memorable arrival in 2007. But three up-and-down seasons later, it is clear the Yankees have lost confidence in the 25-year-old former phenom.
The Yankees did not believe he could handle being Rivera’s primary setup man — a role he failed in last year — and they grabbed Soriano off the free agent market.
So, where does that leave Chamberlain?
According to a source, the Yankees have no plans of trading Chamberlain right now, but they would listen to offers. There is also no talk of moving him back to the starting rotation, where he failed in 2008 and 2009.
The Yankees have to gauge Chamberlain’s trade value. In 2007 and 2008 he was viewed as a future superstar, but his ERA has been over 4.00 in each of the past two seasons, and he has struggled in a variety of roles.
“He’s definitely got value,” an NL talent evaluator said yesterday. “The problem is in the past two years his stuff has gone backwards.”
There is a belief around baseball that the Yankees will move him back into the starting rotation with Soriano now filling the setup role. The Yankees have said all winter that Chamberlain will remain a reliever after bouncing back and forth for his first three years.
Some teams also believe the Yankees have messed up Chamberlain, but he can be fixed in the proper situation with the proper coaching.
“It depends on how the organization that would be interested in him would view him,” the talent evaluator said. “There’s still some people that think he can start.”
An AL talent evaluator said it will become clear in spring training how much value Chamberlain has. Then, everyone will see how the Yankees are using him, and you will be able to tell if there’s interest based on how many scouts come to his outings.
The return on Chamberlain might not be enough for the Yankees to deal him. He still is viewed as an important piece of their bullpen, pitching mainly in the sixth or seventh innings along with David Robertson.
As for Soriano, the Yankees don’t expect to make his contract official until Monday at the earliest.
ESPN reported yesterday there is a rift between general manager Brian Cashman and ownership, and the Steinbrenners, rather than Cashman and his staff, drove the Soriano signing. A team source denied there is any divide in the organization. Cashman did not return phone calls yesterday.
There is an appearance that Cashman was overruled on Soriano because of his public statements last week that he would not surrender a first-round pick for any of the remaining Type A free agents. With the Soriano signing, the Yankees surrendered their top pick to the Rays.
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Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Boone Logan filed for arbitration yesterday. Teams and players will exchange salary figures on Tuesday.