ATLANTA -- The Braves won't be going to arbitration with Rafael Soriano next month -- and they no longer have to worry about having to bid for his services next offseason.Now, why would the Braves want to make this deal?Braves general manager Frank Wren announced on Thursday afternoon that the club has agreed to terms on a two-year contract with Soriano, who would have been eligible for free agency at the end of the 2008 season. The right-handed reliever had been the Braves' only remaining unsigned arbitration-eligible player.
Soriano's two-year contract is worth a guaranteed $9 million, which includes a $500,000 signing bonus. He will receive $2.4 million in 2008 and $6.1 milllion in 2009.
There are some incentives in the deal that could bump that up a few bucks.
"We went into the arbitration discussions with the strategy that we'd love to keep Rafael for multiple years," Wren said. "The last two years, Rafael has been one of the best relievers in baseball."
Other than the injury risk that every team assumes with every contract, the only evident pitfall with the deal would come if Soriano doesn't live up to expectations as he prepares for his first full-time venture as a closer. He assumed the role for Atlanta after Bob Wickman was released in late August.
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