Orioles' Gregory Soto: Logs another scoreless outing
Rotowire
Soto picked up a hold Saturday against the Blue Jays after throwing a clean eighth inning, striking out one batter.
Soto made quick work of the heart of Toronto's order to preserve a 5-4 lead, retiring Anthony Santander, Andres Gimenez and George Springer on just nine pitches. It was the first hold of the campaign for Soto, who has now hurled six scoreless innings to go with a 9:2 K:BB so far. The hard-throwing left-hander is one of Baltimore's top setup men and remains a candidate for the occasional save chance when closer Felix Bautista is unavailable, but the Orioles didn't see their first save opportunity of the season until Saturday's contest.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde named Soto as an option to see save chance early in the season on days Felix Bautista (elbow) is unavailable, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Bautista will not be allowed to appear in back-to-back games or pitch more than one inning at a time for a while as he comes back from Tommy John surgery, and Hyde said he'll "mix and match" at closer those days. The skipper named Andrew Kittredge (knee) and Seranthony Dominguez in addition to Soto as relievers who could see save opportunities when Bautista is off limits.
... See More... See Less
Orioles' Gregory Soto: Avoids hearing with O's
Rotowire
Soto agreed to a one-year, $5.35 million contract with the Orioles on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.
After being sent to Baltimore from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, Soto turned in a 5.09 ERA and 1.53 WHIP alongside a 21:7 K:BB over 17.2 innings before covering a scoreless two-thirds of an innings during his lone playoff appearance. His poor performance will net him just a $350,000 raise in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and he appears destined to work in middle relief next season.
Soto (3-5) didn't allow a baserunner or a run over two-thirds of an inning, earning the win over the Giants on Thursday.
Seranthony Dominguez allowed the tying run to score in the top of the ninth inning, but Soto got Mark Canha to ground into a double play to keep the game tied at 3-3. In the bottom of the frame, Anthony Santander lifted the Orioles to a 5-3 win with a walk-off home run. Soto's Baltimore tenure started poorly, but he's since allowed just three runs (two earned) over his last 13.2 innings, posting a 17:3 K:BB in that span. Overall, he has a 4.65 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 62:26 K:BB over 50.1 innings between the Orioles and the Phillies.
... See More... See Less
Orioles' Gregory Soto: Disaster outing ends in loss
Rotowire
Soto (2-5) allowed four runs on four hits and a walk while striking out one over one-third of an inning, taking the loss Tuesday versus the Blue Jays.
The Orioles haven't been able to fix Soto, who has allowed eight runs over 1.1 innings across his first three appearances with the team. Even in a mediocre showing with the Phillies earlier in the season, he was rarely this bad. Overall, he's now at a 5.89 ERA, 1.85 WHIP and 45:23 K:BB over 36.2 innings with two saves and eight holds. Given Soto's struggles, he's likely to be limited to low-leverage work and could even be at risk of getting designated for assignment if he can't turn things around quickly.
... See More... See Less
Orioles' Gregory Soto: Shipped to Baltimore
Rotowire
The Phillies traded Soto to the Orioles on Tuesday in exchange for Seth Johnson, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Soto owns a 4.08 ERA and 1.58 WHIP through 35.1 innings with the Phillies this season. He's capable of handling high-leverage situations, recording two saves and seven holds on the year, though he'll most likely handle middle relief while with the O's.
Soto earned the save Wednesday against the Angels, allowing two hits with one strikeout over a scoreless ninth inning.
Soto picked up his first save since Apr. 8, retiring back-to-back batters to close out the game and strand runners on first and third. While Soto shouldn't be expected to see much high-leverage work, it's worth noting that closer Jose Alvarado has pitched during the eighth inning in back-to-back games, leaving save chances to Soto and Jeff Hoffman.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Gregory Soto: Notches first save
Rotowire
Soto allowed one hit in a scoreless frame Monday, striking out two and earning a save over the Cardinals.
Soto was in a first-and-third jam with just one out but punched out Nolan Gorman and Nolan Arenado to close out the 5-3 win in the 10th inning. This came after Jeff Hoffman blew a save chance in the ninth. Soto now has a save and two holds with a 5:0 K:BB through 3.2 shutout frames.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Gregory Soto: Avoids arbitration with Phils
Rotowire
Soto signed a one-year contract with the Phillies on Thursday to avoid arbitration.
Soto saw his saves total diminish significantly in 2023 after being traded from Detroit to Philadelphia last offseason. He still managed an impressive 24 holds and also posted an 8.8 percent walk rate -- by far the best mark of his career. Jose Alvarado is the current favorite for the closer role, but with Craig Kimbrel out of the picture, this could be a bullpen to watch in spring training.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Gregory Soto: Notches second save
Rotowire
Soto struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his second save of the season in a 6-4 win over the Orioles.
Craig Kimbrel got the call in the eighth inning against the heart of Baltimore's order, while Soto faced the 6-7-8 hitters for the O's en route to his first save since mid-May. While the left-hander does appear to be manager Rob Thomson's second choice for save chances, Kimbrel's spot as closer doesn't seem to be in any jeopardy. Since the beginning of June, Soto has posted a 2.70 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 11:5 K:BB through 16.2 innings while collecting six holds and a win in addition to Wednesday's save.
Soto pitched a perfect inning to earn his first save of the season in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Rockies.
Soto had no trouble protecting a three-run lead, retiring the side on 10 pitches. This was his first outing since Jose Alvarado (elbow) landed on the injured list. Craig Kimbrel got the first save chance Friday, but Soto should also be in the mix in what's likely to be a closer committee for the next few weeks. Soto has a 4.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 21:10 K:BB while logging seven holds over 20 appearances (18 innings) this season.
1:41
2:40
0:34
1:30
3:26
10:14
9:37
1:46
2:29
1:55
1:16
0:43
0:55
9:57
9:26
8:42
8:27
9:32
8:49
