What Will The Yankees Do About a Closer?

The New York Yankees were hit with the injury bug this season. A crucial blow during the postseason when Derek Jeter, their heart and soul, went down with a broken ankle on a play at short. However, the injury I am referring to has a much larger ripple effect. Mariano Rivera, possibly the best closer of all time, went down for the year when shagging fly balls during batting practice and swore that he would be back. 

However, recent reports have noted that Rivera is second guessing his return as the road back from a significant injury becomes tougher when you eclipse the age of 40. To add to the controversy, Rafael Soriano, the Yankees free-agent signing before last season has opted out of his current contract, leaving the Yankees without a pitcher to close games. 

With Rivera questioning his resiliency and Soriano looking for a lengthy contract, the Yankees are currently in a bind. Will they let Soriano walk and look to the trading block? Will they try to re-sign Soriano for the extended future? Will they depend upon Mariano to come back and be his former self? 

Their expensive offense has done anything but produce on the offensive end and they could potentially ship a larger contract to secure a better option to shore up their bullpen. The Giants, now with a crowded bullpen, may be willing to trade with the Yankees and ship Brian Wilson in a deal that may land them a star bat for their lineup. 

The Giants and Yankees have dealt before, most notably before last season when the Giants shipped a backup catcher, Chris Stewart for a middle-reliever, George Kontos who became a reliable source out of the pen for the Giants. 

The Yankees need to make a decision about the future of their bullpen because waiting on Rivera to make a decision is the last thing they can afford to do.