The Rays have traded second baseman Akinori Iwamura to the Pirates for reliever Jesse Chavez, the club announced tonight.

Iwamura, a three-time all-star in Japan, played three seasons in Tampa Bay, batting .281 with a .354 on-base percentage and 104 RBIs. An excellent defensive player, he was the lead-off hitter for the Rays when the won the American League East title and advance to the World Series in 2008.

Chavez, a 26-year-old righthander, was 1-4 with a 4.01 ERA in 73 appearances for the Pirates last season. Overall, he has pitched in 88 major league games and has a 1-5 record and 4.48 ERA. No other players were involved in the trade.

The Rays had to decide by the day after the World Series whether to exercise a $4.85 million option on Iwamura’s contract or pay a $550,000 buyout and allow him to become a free agent. A third option was to sign and trade him, and that’s what the club did.

Iwamura played in only 69 games this season because of a knee injury May 24 that originally was considered season-ending. The damage wasn’t as extensive as feared, and the second baseman returned for the final month of the season.

Although Iwamura wanted to remain in Tampa Bay and said he would consider a pay cut, the Rays decided to spend his salary elsewhere. They appear to be leaning toward 2009 all-star and/or minor leaguer Sean Rodriguez as their 2010 second baseman. Rodriguez came over from the Angels in August in the Scott Kazmir trade.