Winter meetings extras: Soriano, Rule 5 draft, Patterson

*The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Dave O’Brien believes the Braves and Rays could finalize a Rafael Soriano deal on Thursday. The Braves figure to get a decent prospect here, but the quality will depend on whether they’re willing to throw in a couple of million to help out with Soriano’s still undetermined salary, which presumably will be around $8 million. Soriano should move right into the closer’s role for Tampa Bay, allowing J.P. Howell to return to setup duties. *The Washington Times reports that the Nationals will take Zach Kroenke from the Yankees with the first pick in the Rule 5 draft and then send him back to the Bombers to complete the Brian Bruney trade. The Yankees must think they completely blew it when they left Kroenke available for the draft. The 25-year-old southpaw had a 1.99 ERA in 72 1/3 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, though that came with a modest 55/30 K/BB ratio. The odd thing about this is that Kroenke will still have to pass through waivers if he fails to make the Yankees out of spring training. However, with Phil Coke gone, he may have a real chance of winning a bullpen spot. *The Mariners agreed to terms with Corey Patterson on a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Patterson may or may not fit the defense-first mentality of the new Mariners regime, depending on what you want to believe. That he was once an elite defensive center fielder is undeniable, but the numbers rated him merely average in 2007 and ’08. Of course, he spent almost all of last season in Triple-A, hitting .292/.333/.478 in 387 at-bats. He went 3-for-29 with 13 strikeouts in limited action for the Brewers. It’s doubtful he’ll make the Mariners out of spring training.