Soria will remain the closer: Even though the Royals acquired Jonathan Broxton on Tuesday, GM Dayton Moore confirmed to MLB.com that Joakim Soria will remain the team's closer. The Royals currently have no plans to move him to the starting rotation. "Joakim Soria is our closer, and Jonathan Broxton knows what our situation is prior to signing here," Moore said. (Updated 11/29/2011)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 2/12/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Of course, the Broxton signing could be a precursor to the Royals shopping Soria, but Moore hasn't indicated anything along those lines. With the team seemingly on the verge of contending, a move to strengthen the back end of the bullpen is logical, so Fantasy owners are better off taking Moore's comments at face value. The situation is worth monitoring, of course, but for now, Soria is still worth targeting as a low-end No. 1 Fantasy RP in the middle rounds of standard mixed-league drafts. (Updated 11/29/2011).
02/10/2012 13:27 2012 Draft Prep: 12-team, mixed H2H draft
Which picks stood out in our initial 12-team Head-to-Head mock draft for 2012? Check out the results and read what Scott White has to say about some of the more interesting selections.
02/02/2012 12:21 2012 Draft Prep: Our 12-team, mixed Rotisserie draft
It's time for owners to start looking ahead to Draft Day. We get you off and running with our 12-team Rotisserie mock draft. Check out the results!
For all that went right for the Royals in 2011, Joakim Soria -- their one shining beacon of hope during their dark rebuilding years -- nearly went very, very wrong. Despite entering the season averaging 38.3 saves and a 1.84 ERA over his previous three, he couldn't figure out how to get hitters out anymore, blowing five of 12 save opportunities with a 6.55 ERA in April and May. He was so bad that he actually lost the closer role to rookie Aaron Crow in early June. Apparently, that was exactly the punch in the gut he needed, though, because he was fine the rest of the way. He quickly regained closing duties and converted 21 saves in 23 opportunities with a 2.58 ERA to close out the year. At age 27, Soria is hardly on the decline. His velocity was the same as always last year, as were his strikeout and walk rates. Whatever went wrong with him appears to be a non-issue now, so you should feel confident drafting him as a top-10 reliever. He's still a candidate to get traded, especially with Jonathan Broxton now behind him, but with the Royals nearing contention, they might just as soon hang on to him. (Updated 1/9/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
= probable start