The Braves have traded Horacio Ramirez to the Mariners for Rafael Soriano. For those who don't know that much about Soriano (Ryan), he was second on the team in VORP, behind fellow reliever J.J. Putz. He threw 60 innings this year in relief, with 6.60 hits/9 innings, 3.15 walks/9, 9.75 strikeouts/9, and 0.90 home runs/9. He finished with a 2.25 ERA. His 25.3 VORP would have led Braves relievers (for reference, our best reliever, Oscar Villarreal, had a VORP of 20.7). Notable relievers just ahead of Soriano in VORP include Billy Wagner, Dan Wheeler (26.0 VORP each), and Trevor Hoffman (25.7).

It's hard to tell now which team will end up on the upside of this trade in the long run, given each pitchers' injury history, in addition to the fact that it's usually better to trade a reliever for a starter rather than the other way around, but for now, the Mariners needed a solid starter, and the Braves needed a bullpen ace. The Braves will still make a few more moves this winter, likely adding another bullpen arm and possibly a new left fielder and/or second baseman, but our first trade of the winter looks like a good one.

I'll provide a link to Baseball America's analysis of the trade when one goes up.