Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — With the mind-numbing contracts that are bandied about in baseball, one can lose perspective of just how much money is being talked about.

But not Rafael Soriano.

AP (ENLARGE)

'He's the kind of guy who wants the ball in the ninth inning,' catcher Brian McCann says of Rafael Soriano. 'That's a quality you can't teach. You either have it or you don't.'

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The Braves setup man-turned-closer smiled and laughed softly when a reporter suggested Soriano's $6.1 million salary in 2009 — part of a two-year, $9.1 million contract he signed in January — would be a bargain rate for a proven closer.

"To me, when I signed, I signed for $5,000," said the hard-throwing Dominican, who was 16 when he signed with Seattle in 1996. "Now I sign for $9 million. Everybody's happy — my family's happy, my lawyer's happy, I'm happy."

Until now, Soriano never had more than a one-year contract. "I've been looking for that [multiyear deal]," said Soriano. "When you sign for two years, you feel more comfortable. I've been working hard every day, trying to be more ready.

"I'm being paid like a setup guy this year, but now I want to put up good numbers and I'll be paid like a closer in the future."

His contract includes a $500,000 signing bonus and $2.4 million salary for 2008, about one-fourth the rate for elite closers. The Braves think Soriano will quickly establish himself as a full-time closer, after excelling in the role late last season when he moved from setup man when Bob Wickman got released.

"He's tough mentally, and his ability could be off the charts," Braves manager Bobby Cox said of Soriano, who posted a 3.00 ERA with career highs of 72 strikeouts, 71 appearances and 70 innings in his first season with the Braves, and converted nine of 12 saves.

His .192 opponents' average over the past two seasons ranks fifth among major-league relievers, and Soriano's .232 opponents' on-base percentage last season ranked second among NL relievers.

"He's going to be phenomenal [as a closer] — he's got the mentality for it," said reliever Peter Moylan, who also had a breakthrough season in 2007 and could be Soriano's primary setup man.

Soriano came back from elbow-ligament surgery in 2004 and a career-threatening concussion in 2006 after being struck by a line drive off the bat of Vladimir Guerrero. Seattle traded him to Atlanta for left-handed starter Horacio Ramirez a few months later.

Soriano needed a different sort of resilience to get past the roughest patch of his relief career last season, when he allowed nine homers in 24 innings from mid-June to mid-August.

After working with pitching coach Roger McDowell to make adjustments, including pitching inside more to hitters, Soriano allowed one run in his last 17 appearances, while piling up 24 strikeouts with three walks. The Braves released Wickman in late August and Soriano ran with the role.

"I'm sure [the slump] bothered him, but he pitched his way out of it," Cox said. "He went down to the bullpen with Roger a few times and ironed it out and got it going again."

Soriano, who has reported to camp with a thicker upper body, the result of more strength training over the winter, has craved the closer role for years. Before, he had to be ready whenever the bullpen phone rang. He looks forward to knowing that he'll enter games in the ninth and sometimes eighth inning.

This will be the fourth consecutive season the Braves have entered with a different closer. Dan Kolb, Chris Reitsma and Wickman didn't have the combination of Soriano's power arm and intimidating scowl.

"And he's the kind of guy who wants the ball in the ninth inning," catcher Brian McCann said. "That's a quality you can't teach. You either have it or you don't."