Phillies news and rumors 8/7: Gregory Soto off to rough start in Baltimore

Gregory Soto was traded to the Orioles at the deadline. (Grace Del Pizzo/Phillies Nation)

Former Phillie Gregory Soto is not off to a good start in Baltimore.

Through three games, Soto has allowed eight earned runs, including four in Tuesday’s loss against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Soto entered the game in the sixth with a runner on first after Albert Suárez threw five scoreless innings. Baltimore was essentially running a bullpen game after starter Grayson Rodriguez was scratched with a right lat injury minutes before first pitch.

Soto was put in to face lefty Spencer Horwitz, who singled to bring up first and third. He then allowed a three-run home run to Alejandro Kirk, a double to Daulton Varsho, and after an intentional walk to Ernie Clement, Varsho and Clement pulled off a double steal. Then the left-handed hitting Addison Barger drove in the pair on a double. Soto entered the game with the O’s up 1-0 and left the game with his new team down 5-1.

Soto was traded to the Orioles at the deadline for pitching prospects Seth Johnson and Moisés Chace. He was hoping a change of scenery would do him good as he was not pleased with the role he had in Philadelphia. He told Baltimore reporters that he and his agent approached the Phillies and expressed interest in being moved at the deadline if the opportunity presented itself.

On one hand, Soto’s perspective is understandable. He still has one year remaining in baseball’s archaic arbitration system that values traditional reliever stats such as saves and holds. The way Rob Thomson runs his bullpen isn’t for everyone.

The issue is that Soto did not pitch well enough in the opportunities he had to earn the more desirable role he coveted. He was given the ball in the ninth inning with the game tied on July 24 in Minnesota and couldn’t throw strikes, leading to a Twins walk off win. Soto, in the end, was too prone to the occasional blowup outing, making him expendable.

It’s a disappointing outcome for the Phillies, who had high hopes for Soto when they acquired him in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in the 2022-23 offseason. The team saw a lot of Alvarado in Soto and thought they could mold him into another left-handed power arm in the back of the bullpen. It just wasn’t in the cards and as a result, the team moved on from him when they picked up Tanner Banks from the White Sox.

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