Braves designate Church for assignment to make room for Soriano

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves surplus of closers forced the team to part ways with outfielder Ryan Church on Tuesday.

Church was designated for assignment by the Braves to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for reliever Rafael Soriano, who made a surprise decision a day earlier to accept salary arbitration.

The Braves last week signed closer Billy Wagner and set-up man Takashi Saito. The expectation was Soriano and Mike Gonzalez would decline salary arbitration offers and become free agents.

Instead, Soriano is still a Brave. The right-hander accepted arbitration late Monday and can't be traded prior to June 16 without his consent.

Gonzalez didn't accept arbitration.

The team added about $10 million in payroll with Wagner and Saito, and Soriano could earn more than $7 million.

However, despite the Braves' strained budget due to the overstocked bullpen, Atlanta general manager Frank Wren says Soriano's decision will not hinder efforts to improve the team's lineup.

"We knew this was a possibility and was not surprising," Wren told the Associated Press in an e-mail. "It won't change our offseason plans."

Soriano had 27 saves while going 1-6 with a 2.97 ERA in 77 games for Atlanta. Gonzalez had 10 saves.

The Braves acquired Church from the New York Mets for outfielder Jeff Francoeur on July 10. He made $2.8 million last season.

Church hit .260 with two home runs and 18 RBI in 44 games with the Braves. Overall, he hit .273 with four home runs and 40 RBI with the Braves and Mets.