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The Kansas City Royals have declined the 2013 option of right-hander Joakim Soria, instead electing to exercise his $750,000 contract buyout, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star.
Soria missed the entire 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. While he was a productive reliever for the Royals prior to this year, they didn’t want to bring him back for 2013 at a salary of $8 million.
Kansas City acquired Soria from the San Diego Padres in the 2006 Rule 5 Draft. He was inserted into the team’s bullpen during the 2007 season, becoming a mainstay until 2012. The right-hander maintained an incredible 2.01 ERA and 0.988 WHIP over 238 appearances from 2007-10. He recorded 132 saves during that time.
Soria experienced a down year by his standards in 2011, posting an ERA of 4.03 over 60 appearances. Over five years with the Royals the 28-year-old has produced an ERA of 2.40 with 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.5 walks per nine innings.