Rafael Soriano Traded To Tampa Bay

The Atlanta Braves have agreed to trade reliever Rafael Soriano to the Tampa Bay Rays for reliever Jesse Chavez, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  Completion of the trade is pending a medical review. 

The interesting aspect of this agreement is Soriano's recent acceptance of the Braves arbitration offer.  The Braves likely did not expect Soriano to do so and now lose out on the compensation picks they would have received if Soriano simply signed with another team. 

Under the terms of the trade agreement, the Rays would pay all of whatever Soriano's salary would be in arbitration.  In essence, if the Rays do not agree to a contract with Soriano before arbitration, they traded for a player who's salary was undefined at the time.  Especially curious for a team with limited resources, as the Rays are often portrayed. 

However, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that the Rays will only consummate the trade if a contract agreement is reached between Tampa Bay and Soriano.

Rafael Soriano appears headed to Tampa Bay