Gregory Soto, acquired by the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline, has had a rough start to his tenure. What should the Orioles do next? Soto, 24, had some very successful years with the Detroit Tigers, including two All-Star games, before he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. However, Soto struggled during his time there, prompting a trade to the Orioles. But nothing has changed so far; in fact, Soto has been even worse with his newest team. While the Orioles deal with a slew of pitcher injuries, they needed Soto to be reliable. Now, with another reliever going on the IL, Jacob Webb, the Orioles have a lot they need to figure out.
Gregory Soto’s Struggles with Orioles
Gregory Soto’s performances with the Orioles have been nothing short of disastrous. He has appeared in three games, yet pitched just 1 1/3 innings. In these brief appearances, Soto has given up nine hits and eight earned runs, all of which were earned. That results in a 54.00 ERA. Clearly, Soto has not been effective at all. Also, Soto picked up the loss on Tuesday after giving up four runs in just a third of an inning.
Gregory Soto hasn’t had a great time since joining the Orioles:
3 G | 1.1 IP | 9 H | 8 ER | 4 BB | 1 K |
54.00 ERApic.twitter.com/0LXyL47ZPa— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) August 7, 2024
Why The Orioles Traded For Soto
This has left many fans wondering in hindsight why the Orioles even went and traded for Gregory Soto. He has pitched terribly, and any spot seems too high-leverage for him. The answer is that the Orioles need a reliable lefty reliever, and Soto’s track record shows he can be that guy.
As mentioned previously, the Orioles pitchers have suffered a shocking amount of injuries. This includes seven pitchers currently on the IL, four of whom are out for the season. On the IL currently is Danny Coulombe, Baltimore’s go-to left-handed reliever. He has been out since June, and the Orioles looked to replace him with someone at the deadline. That prompted the Gregory Soto trade, and now they are stuck with a struggling pitcher. There are many paths the Orioles can take now, so let’s look at a few.
What’s Next For The Orioles
One thing the Orioles can do is to give Soto some low-leverage chances. He has had previous success in those spots, and giving him a chance to get comfortable could help him return to elite status. Those situations are sometimes hard to come by, but giving Soto a chance to fix himself during a game could make a huge difference for him.
Another option would be to DFA Soto. Now, that would be a shocking move, considering the Orioles traded one of their top 30 prospects for him, but a move that might have to be made. There are a bunch of options down in Triple-A Norfolk that the Orioles could look to instead, including multiple left-handers. Both Cole Irvin and Nick Vespi have spent time with the team this year and may offer more upside than Soto. Another option would be Dillon Tate, who was a high-leverage pitcher for the Orioles in 2022 before injuries slowed him down.
A final option for Soto would be to just let him become the mop-up guy until Webb, Coulombe or Grayson Rodriguez return from the injured list. If he continues to pitch poorly, it’s an easy decision to DFA him, but if he starts to improve, give him some aforementioned low-leverage chances and let him work his way up.
Overall, Gregory Soto’s tenure in Baltimore is not off to a hot start. He needs to turn things around quickly. Otherwise, the Orioles will turn to a variety of other options that they have at their disposal.
Photo Credit: © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
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