Rafael Soriano may accept aribitration

Braves fan glass half-empty response: “D’oh! That’s less money available to go and get a bat!”

Braves fan glass half-full response: “Man, our bullpen is gonna be epic!”

It’s been widely speculated that right-hander Rafael Soriano who was offered salary arbitration by the Braves this week, will decline the offer and hit the open market as a free agent. But Soriano’s agent said Saturday that the pitcher is giving serious consideration to accepting arbitration and returning to Atlanta for a one-year deal.

“It’s going to go down to the wire,’' said agent Peter Greenberg. “It’s definitely going to be a last-minute decision for us.’'

The last time the Braves offered arbitration to a guy they were certain was going to leave was Greg Maddux before the 2003 season. It cost them $14.75 million and turned the team off of the arbitration game for a long time, arguably costing them some draft picks along the way. Still, the 2003 Braves won 101 games, in part because Greg Maddux was there to bolster the pitching staff.

So basically, I’m not going to cry about it if Soriano accepts arbitration, even if Frank Wren does.