The Cubs made the news official just before Noon on Monday. The Cubs selected the contract of RHP Rafael Soriano from the Iowa Cubs, added him to the 40- and 25-man roster. RHP Edwin Jackson was designated for assignment.
Rafael Soriano will be available for Monday’s opener in Cincinnati and he will wear No. 29.
With the two roster moves, the Cubs 40-man roster officially stands at 40 players and the 25-man active roster consists of 13 pitchers (five starters, eight relievers) and 12 position players.
RHP Rafael Soriano signed a minor league contract with the Cubs last month that called for a prorated salary of $4.1 million for the 2015 season. Soriano’s contract includes a $4 million incentives package based on appearances and games finished.
The Cubs have 10 days to trade Edwin Jackson. The Cubs are on the hook for the remaining $15.63 million owed to Jackson on the four-year, $52 million contract he signed in January 2013.
The 35-year-old Rafael Soriano is 22-28 with 207 saves and a 2.85 ERA (200 earned runs in 630 2/3 innings) in 585 big league appearances, all but eight in relief, covering 13 seasons with Seattle (2002-06), Atlanta (2007-09), Tampa Bay (2010), the New York Yankees (2011-12) and Washington (2013-14). Over the last three seasons, Soriano has combined to record 117 saves, an average of 39 per season, with a 9-5 record and 2.84 ERA (62 earned runs in 196 1/3 innings) in 201 relief outings.
Soriano signed a minor league contract with the Cubs on June 9 and tossed seven scoreless appearances between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa. Soriano struck out seven in 7.0 innings while limiting opponents to a .174 batting average.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander primarily served as a set-up man the first seven seasons of his Major League career before saving 27 games for the Braves in 2009 and recording a career-high 45 saves for Joe Maddon’s Rays in 2010, his first of three seasons with more than 40 saves. He joined the Yankees in 2011 and recorded 23 holds as a set-up man to Mariano Rivera that season and saved 42 games for the Yankees in 2012. He notched 43 saves in 2013 and 32 saves last year with the Nationals.
Soriano went 4-1 with 32 saves and a 3.19 ERA (22 earned runs in 62 innings) and 1.13 WHIP in 64 relief appearances for the Nationals last season. He has turned in a 3.19 ERA or lower in 10 of his 13 seasons. Soriano is a native of San Jose, Dominican Republic.
Jackson, 31, went 16-34 with a 5.37 ERA (207 earned runs in 347 innings), 1.52 WHIP and 3.97 FIP in 82 appearances, including 58 starts, with the Cubs since joining the club on a four-year deal prior to the 2013 campaign.
Edwin Jackson was 2-1 with a 3.19 ERA (11 earned runs in 31 innings), 1.36 WHIP and 2.83 FIP in 23 relief appearances for the Cubs this season.