Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox are interested in potentially signing Rafael Soriano. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before, but it makes a lot of sense. When the White Sox allowed closer Bobby Jenks and right-handed set-up man J.J. Putz leave via free agency, it left them without an experienced closer. Having an experience closer is not a requirement, but it is a nice asset for serious contender to have on their roster.
Soriano would be an ideal option for the White Sox if they can fit his salary onto their payroll. After signing Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, and Jesse Crain to long-term, big money deals, it's not clear if they have the room without countering it with other moves that would allow them to shed payroll. Currently their payroll is set at $110M. This would represent a $7M increase over their 2010 number, and that's before the John Danks and Carlos Quentin are signed to their second-year arbitration deals. The White Sox have been rumored to be interested in moving both Quentin and starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, so discussions for both of those players could be revisited in upcoming days or weeks.
If the White Sox can't come to terms with Soriano, it's not like they're not without options. They still have dominant power lefty Matt Thornton who is more than capable of filling their ninth inning duties. Soriano is reported to be looking for a 3 year $30M contract.
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