AP source: Braves near deal to send Soriano to TB

[December 11, 2009]  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A person familiar with the deal says the Atlanta Braves are close to trading reliever Rafael Soriano to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitcher Jesse Chavez.

The teams were waiting for the medical reports to be approved, the person told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade hadn't been finalized.

Soriano had 27 saves last season for Atlanta. This week, he agreed to the Braves' offer of salary arbitration.

The Braves recently signed free agent relievers Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito. That made Soriano expendable, and the Rays were looking for late-inning relief help.

[Associated Press; By BEN WALKER]

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