Rafael Soriano to Sign with the Nationals

As Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweets:

Source: Rafael Soriano agrees to two-year, $28M deal with Nationals. Deal contains vesting option for third year. Story coming on Y! Sports.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 15, 2013

One lower-first-round/supplemental draft pick headed New York's way. Thank you, Mike Rizzo.

This doesn't make a great deal of sense -- Soriano is a fine pitcher, but cranky when not closing and the Nats' bullpen was just fine. Maybe they trade away arb-eligible workhorse Tyler Clippard now -- you may recall Clippard as the guy the Yankees and Brian Cashman totally failed to value correctly, dumping him for Jonathan Albaladjejo. They give up a ton of dough and a draft pick for 65 or 70 innings. That's not the kind of thing that keeps a rising organization on its current trajectory, but in fact deprives of it of momentum.

Those 65 innings may seem important, but they're just a fraction of the 1400-plus innings the Nationals will need next season.

As for the Yankees, this is no surprise -- Soriano was gone; one senses they didn't want him back even with a good deal of uncertainty about Mariano Rivera. Despite last season's abortive closer trial, David Robertson should be able to handle things should Rivera suffer a sudden case of retirement, and there are plenty of arms to fill in at the back of the bullpen. Letting Soriano move on is as wise a move as the Clippard trade was unwise.

...Is this the place for me to confess I found all of that #untuck posturing pathetic? You don't see Rivera doing that kind of thing. You win the game, you go home -- no need to artificially pump one's ego with pointless gestures.