Gregory Soto
Position: LHP
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 234 lbs
Bats/Throws: L/L
Born: 02/11/1995
Country: Dominican Republic
Signed: International Free Agent, 2012 (Tigers)
How Acquired: Free Agent
Bonus: N/A
40-man Roster: Yes
Rule 5 Eligible: N/A
Minor League Free Agency: N/A
Options Left: N/A
Overview
From 2021-25, Soto appeared in 62 or more games in the majors, all in relief. He throws an upper-90s fastball, although his velocity has dipped a bit since 2023, from over 98 mph to 97. His only other pitch is a slider that gets whiffs well over 40% of the time. His control has been up and down. Soto gets good groundball rates and is hard to make good contact against, but the fastball has become more hittable the last couple of years. That’s come in the form of high BABIPs in 2024-25, .371 and .341 respectively. Over his career, Soto has held left-handed hitters to a .600 OPS, while right-handed hitters have done better, posting a .757 mark against him. The Pirates signed Soto to a one-year deal for 2026.
2013-16
Soto moved up slowly at first, spending four years in short season ball, mainly as a starter. He spent 2013-14 in the DSL, improving the second year because he cut his walk rate from 8.7 to 4.4 BB/9. His ERA dropped from 4.82 to 3.20. In 2015, Soto spent most of the season in the GCL. His ERA of 2.19 was misleading, as over half the runs he allowed were unearned. His BB/9 was 6.1. He threw two innings in the New York-Penn League.
The Tigers moved Soto to the NYPL in 2016. In 15 starts, he posted an ERA of 3.03. He had a BB/9 of 4.3, although his K/9 of 7.8 was well below prior years.
2017-18
Still pitching as a starter, Soto spent the next two years in class A. In 2017, he spent most of the year and put up a 2.25 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He still walked too many, with a 5.1 BB/9 and 10.9 K/9. Soto also made five starts in high A and again had a 2.25 ERA. Detroit added him to the 40-man roster after the season.
In 2018, Soto took a step back. Still pitching as a starter, he had more trouble throwing strikes. He finished with a 1.51 WHIP and 4.45 ERA.
2019-22
In 2019, Soto made one start in high A and three in AA, then got called up. He made four starts for the Tigers and gave up 17 earned runs over 13.2 IP. Through mid-July, Soto was up and down between AAA and the majors several times, then came up to stay. He mostly did not have good numbers in the minors. With Detroit, he had an 8.49 ERA and a starter and 3.93 as a reliever. Over his last 23 games, his ERA was 2.83. On the season, his walk and K rates weren’t good, 5.2 and 7.0 per nine innings. Soto spent the pandemic season with the Tigers, posting a 4.30 ERA over 27 games. They all came in relief, as he moved to the bullpen full-time. He increased his K/9 to 11.3.
Soto spent half of 2021 and all of 2022 as the Tigers’ closer and made the All-Star team both years. He had ERAs of 3.39 and 3.28, although his other numbers were just decent. His WHIP was 1.35 in 2021 and 1.38 in 2022, and he walked over five per nine innings both years. His K/9 in 2022 dropped to 9.0.
2023-25
Before the 2023 season, Detroit traded Soto to Philadelphia. In 69 games, Soto got his WHIP down to 1.14 and his BB/9 to 3.3, but his ERA was 4.62. The problem was a very low strand rate of 59.1%.
In 2024, Soto had an ERA of 4.08 with the Phillies over 43 games, but he was less effective, giving up a WHIP of 1.59. The Phillies traded him to Baltimore at the deadline and, in 23 games with the Orioles, he had a 5.09 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. On the season he had a 4.6 BB/9 and 11.0 K/9. He was hurt by a .371 BABIP.
Soto got traded at the deadline again in 2025, this time to the Mets. Prior to that, in 45 games with the Orioles his ERA was 3.96 and his WHIP was 1.29. He was less effective in 25 games after the trade. He had a 4.50 ERA and 1.63 WHIP. On the season, his BB/9 was 3.6 and his K/9 was 10.4.
After the 2025 season, Soto became a free agent and signed a one-year deal with the Pirates.
Stats
TRANSACTIONS
December 26, 2012: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an international free agent.
November 20, 2017: Contract purchased by the Detroit Tigers.
January 7, 2023: Traded by the Detroit Tigers with Kody Clemens to the Philadelphia Phillies for Matt Vierling, Nick Maton and Donny Sands.
July 30, 2024: Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Baltimore Orioles for Seth Johnson and Moises Chace.
July 25, 2025: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the New York Mets for Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster.
November 2, 2025: Became a free agent.
December 15, 2025: Signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates.