The Pittsburgh Pirates have made their first major move of the offseason.
On Tuesday, the Pirates have reportedly signed left-handed reliever Gregory Soto to a one-year deal worth $7.75 million deal. ESPN insider Jorge Castillo was the first one to break the news.
“The Pirates and left-hander Gregory Soto are in agreement on a one-year, $7.75 million contract, sources tell ESPN,” Castillo posted on X. “Soto, 30, had a 4.18 ERA in 70 appearances for the Orioles and Mets last season.
Soto was acquired by the New York Mets at the trade deadline from the Baltimore Orioles in hopes of bolstering the bullpen in front of former closer Edwin Diaz. After posting a 4.50 ERA in 25 appearances in Queens, there did not seem to be much interest from the Mets to bring him back this winter.
The 30-year-old left averaged one strikeout per appearance last season between Baltimore and New York. His 10.4 K/9 was among the best of his career, and his 3.6 BB/9 was also the second-lowest for him personally. The Pirates will now work to get that number much lower as walks and a lack of control still tend to haunt Soto in certain situations.
Soto uses a five-pitch mix primarily with a four-seam fastball and sinker as his high velocity pitches while using his three off-speed pitches to get swings and misses.
As shown here, most of Soto’s strikeouts come in the lower part of the zone or even below it, showing evidence he relies on his breaking balls to retire hitters.
If the Pirates can solve Soto’s issue with walking batters at a high rate, he could prove to be one of the more underrated reliever signings this winter.
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