New Face, New Place: Rafael Soriano, Rays

If the Tampa Bay Rays had one glaring weakness in 2009, it was at closer , where no one in manager Joe Maddon's "amorphous" bullpen really rose to the occasion in the ninth inning.

Consider that problem addressed with this offseason's addition of lightning-armed Rafael Soriano, last seen closing out games for the Atlanta Braves in '09. The right-hander notched a career-high 27 saves (in 31 chances) last season but became expendable when the Braves signed graybeards Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito.

Soriano can be dominant when he's not injured (Tommy John surgery in 2004, elbow tendinitis in 2008). The 30-year-old boasted a 12.13 K/9 mark last year and was second among major league relievers in strikeouts (102). The closer's job is pretty much all his in Tampa Bay, and with the Rays projected to win upward of 90 games this year, there should be plenty of save chances coming Soriano's way. He'll be a bit under the radar but could easily finish as a top-10 fantasy closer in 2010, provided he adjusts to American League hitters.

Photo by The Associated Press

An open letter to Billy Wagner

I'd like to take this opportunity to send a special message to my pal Billy Wagner.

Dear Billy,

Sorry we haven't had much time to chat since I traded for you a couple weeks ago. It's been pretty hectic for me at work, and you've been busy blowing saves and whatnot.

I was pretty excited when I traded for you back on May 22, Billy. I was sorry to see Tim Hudson go, but I really needed saves, and you had been almost perfect up until then. That's why I didn't even break a sweat when you blew a save the day after I traded for you. I mean, you're Billy Wagner. You've got more than 300 freakin' career saves. Your entrance song is Enter Sandman, for gosh sakes.

Things were cool after that. You saved four games in a row, and everything was really great. But then, on June 8, you blew another one. And then another one. And then another one. That's three in a row, Bill. We can't have this. I need you. The Mets need you. It's almost as if you're trying to get Willie Randolph fired or something. As if you don't respect the guy or you're not on the same page or something.

Let's get it together, Bill. If I wanted blown saves I would have picked up Jason Isringhausen instead of you. I want to see that old Billy Wagner I used to know. He's still in there somewhere. Set him free, Bill. Set him free.

Sincerely,

Jason