Pirates rumors: Tigers interested in Joakim Soria

The Tigers are interested in signing Joakim Soria, Tony Paul of the Detroit News writes (hat tip: Bill Brink). Soria pitched for the Tigers in parts of the 2014 and 2015 seasons, and Detroit, of course, sent him to Pittsburgh at last July's deadline for JaCoby Jones.

I won't be tracking Soria rumors throughout the offseason because, as I mentioned here, I don't think it's likely the Pirates will re-sign him. In fact, I doubt they'll even be serious bidders for him. Soria is already 31, and he could get a three-year deal this offseason. He's still good, but I don't see the Bucs making that kind of commitment to a 30-something reliever, given their track record of trying to build bullpens cheaply. It's also just about impossible to see them having both Mark Melancon and Soria on the team as expensive relievers next year, and it would be hard to justify keeping Soria over Melancon unless they got a very good return on a Melancon trade. Besides, Soria will likely seek out a situation where he has a decent chance of closing. Unless the Pirates do part with Melancon, that doesn't seem likely with the Bucs, as Brink notes.