It's official: Soriano trade to Rays completed

By David O'Brien

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The consternation and negotiations are over, and second-guessing of the Braves' trade of Rafael Soriano to Tampa Bay might not linger when fans see the arm on the pitcher the Braves got in return.

The deal finally became official Friday morning with the announcement that Soriano had been traded to the Rays for right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez, who pitched one full season in the majors with Pittsburgh.

Terms were agreed to late Wednesday, and Soriano signed a one-year deal worth $7.25 million on Thursday, a requirement for the trade to be completed. The announcement was delayed until Friday, ostensibly because doctors hadn't had a chance to review all medical records.

Whatever the case, it's completed now. Chavez, 26, is the newest Brave.

The hard-throwing California native was 1-4 with a 4.01 ERA last season in a team-high 73 appearances last season for the Pirates, who traded him to Tampa Bay in November for second baseman Akinoria Iwamura when the Rays needed to dump Iwamura's salary.

Now, Chavez and his 94-96 mph fastball have been traded again to a team that needed to she a salary, albeit for a different reason. The Braves had offered arbitration to Soriano to get draft picks if he signed elsewhere, not because they had any intention of keeping him.

"We like him a lot," Braves general manager Frank Wren said of Chavez, a top contender for a middle-relief spot in 2010 and maybe a bigger role in the future. "We are excited to add another power arm to the middle of our bullpen."

The Braves believe he has the stuff -- that fastball tops out at 98 mph -- to eventually become a late-innings reliever. He complements the heater with a slider and changeup, making him especially effective against left-handed hitters.

"I just want to build off of last year and not make the same mistakes, not wear down like I did at the end of the year," said Chavez, who said occasional flaws in his delivery caused pitches to flatten.

He led major league rookies in appearances and recorded 63 strikeouts with 31 walks in 67-1/3 innings last season, but he didn’t fare well in the late innings of close games, when he was hit at a .327 clip with eight homers in 104 at-bats.

Lefties hit just .228 with a .288 on-base percentage against him; righties hit .299 with a .356 OBP.

After Soriano's agent accepted the arbitration offer Monday at baseball's Winter Meetings in Indianapolis, the Braves regrouped and moved quickly to trade Soriano, who could have commanded at least $7 million through arbitration.

They didn't have room in their payroll for his salary and didn't have a late-innings spot for Soriano, not after signing closer Billy Wagner and set-up man Takashi Saito last week to replace Soriano and fellow free-agent closer Mike Gonzalez.

Due to the unusual circumstances and lack of leverage the Braves had in negotiations with teams for Soriano, getting Chavez -- and not having to cover any part of Soriano's salary -- was as good as the Braves could realistically have been expected to do in a trade.

Chavez is not out of minor-league options and could be sent to the minors without going through waivers. That's always a plus for a team trading for a young player. Chavez has just over one year of major league service, so the Braves can control his contract for several affordable seasons.

Unlike almost every other team in baseball, the Braves don't need to add more pitching this winter. Rather, they will continue efforts to subtract -- they have six starters and are trying to trade veteran Derek Lowe without eating much of the $45 million he's owed over the next three seasons.

It's hitting they need.

"We feel like our pitching staff allows us to go to spring training today," Wren said. "Now we can really focus on our offense."

The Braves are trying to trade Lowe to clear up salary they can use to bolster their lineup. Xavier Nady, Mark DeRosa, and Georgia natives Marlon Byrd and Mike Cameron are among the free-agent hitters the Braves are considering, and each of those players has indicated mutual interest.

They have also discussed trading for a hitter, with Washington Nationals outfielder Josh Willingham among the names they've been linked to most frequently.