Cubs sign reliever Rafael Soriano to minor-league deal

It took until June but Rafael Soriano has finally found a new home as the Chicago Cubs announced Tuesday they had signed the veteran reliever to a minor-league contract.

The signing comes less than two weeks after Soriano fired Scott Boras because he wanted to pitch this year and the super-agent’s demands weren’t helping the cause. Soriano was ranked No. 45 on Jeff Passan’s free-agent tracker this offseason, but a poor second half with the Washington Nationals and his age, 35, kept teams from offering him a long-term deal.

With Cubs manager Joe Maddon recently announcing he would employ a closer-by-committee approach for the ninth inning and other high-leverage spots, why not add another proven arm to the fold? Hector Rondon had been the go-to guy until a few struggles of late saw Pedro Strop and Jason Motte get save opportunities.

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It’s the kind of low-risk, high-reward move that makes perfect sense for the 30-25 Cubs, especially since according to James Wagner of the Washington Post, the contract is highly incentive based:

Rafael Soriano has a minor league with Cubs. It’s for $4.1M prorated base with up to $4M in bonuses for games finished & appearances.

— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) June 9, 2015

The expectation is that Soriano will throw a handful of innings in the minors before getting the call to join Chicago’s bullpen. Soriano has compiled 207 career saves and posted a 2.85 ERA over the course of his 13 years in the big leagues.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr