Well this about the worst news Royals fans could imagine.
According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, it appears that Royals closer Joakim Soria is headed towards Tommy John surgery, the second of his career. Prior to joining the Royals, Soria had his first Tommy John surgery in 2003.
This is bad news for the Royals as the organization has now lost any and all leverage they had with the prized closer. Many fans and members of the media alike had said it was time for the team to trade Soria this offseason. To be honest at one time this winter I thought he was as good as trade
Now it's not like the Royals are out of options at the closer sp0t as they have Greg Holland and Kelvin Herrera who could step into the role. Should the team want, they also could shift newly signed Jonathan Broxton from the set-up role to closer. However the damage to Soria has been done and now the club will pay the consequences.
Financially the Royals have $6 million tied up in Soria for 2012, and $16.75 million over the next two-years in team options. Look fort the Royals to now try to negotiate and move forward after this troubling news. Before he goes under the knife, Soria will be re-evaluated by a specialist in Los Angeles.
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