With the offseason here and no way of assessing any moves the Yankees make until the new decade, let’s rank the five best offseason acquisitions since 2010.
The MLB hot stove is starting to heat up, and with that, the New York Yankees will likely be making some big moves in the near future.
While we will have no way of assessing any of the Yankees moves until the new decade kicks off in 2020, we can reflect and name the Bombers best five off-season acquisitions of the current decade (2010-2019). Let’s dive in.
No. 5 Rafael Soriano (2011)
Remember Rafael Soriano saving the 2012 Yankees bullpen from costing them a division title? It’s okay; many don’t.
The Yankees signed Soriano to a two-year contract following a 2010 season that saw him save 45 games for the Rays and pitch to a 1.73 ERA as he finished in the top 10 in American Leauge Cy Young Voting.
While Soriano struggled in his first year in the Bronx pitching to an ERA of 4.13 while setting up Mariano Rivera, it was his contributions in 2012 that earned him a spot on this list. In May of that year, the Yankees lost the great Rivera to a torn ACL and were left without a closer.
Luckily for them, Soriano slid into the role and was dominant, saving 42 games and pitching to a 2.20 ERA. In the postseason, he tossed 3.1 innings of scoreless relief in the Yankees five-game division series victory over the Baltimore Orioles and was perfect in his lone appearance of the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers.
While it’s a move that fly’s under the radar, signing Soriano cracks the list as one of Brian Cashman’s best moves of the decade.
What about DJ?
It’s tough to judge him based on one season. He’ll definitely end up on the list eventually though.