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.
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Orioles' Gregory Soto: Disaster outing ends in loss
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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.
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Orioles' Gregory Soto: Shipped to Baltimore
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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.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Converts on second save
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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.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Notches first save
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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.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Avoids arbitration with Phils
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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.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Notches second save
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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.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Perfect inning for save
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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.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Should see save chances
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Soto is expected to split closing duties with Craig Kimbrel after Jose Alvarado (elbow) was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
The lefty-throwing Alvarado has been Philadelphia's top reliever and primary closing option this season with five saves, but he's now sidelined by elbow inflammation. Kimbrel has three saves but has struggled at times with a 7.62 ERA in 15 outings, which could allow Soto -- who tallied 30 saves for Detroit in 2022 -- to take a larger share of the closer role.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Officially arrives in camp
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Soto (personal) officially arrived at Phillies camp Wednesday.
Soto was delayed in getting to the Phillies' spring training complex in Florida due to visa issues and had to bow out of an opportunity to pitch for Team Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. However, he can now work on playing catch-up from this point forward and should serve as a high-leverage bullpen option for the reigning NL champs come Opening Day. The 28-year-old right-hander was acquired from the Tigers in a January trade.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: En route to camp
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Soto (personal) has resolved his visa issue and is scheduled to arrive at the Phillies' spring camp in Florida on Wednesday or Thursday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Because he'll be arriving at camp about three weeks after pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report, Soto isn't expected to be available to pitch for the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic and will instead conduct workouts with the Phillies. It's unclear how much throwing Soto has been able to do on his own while he was waiting for his visa situation to be resolved, so he could be more than a week away from making his spring debut. Fortunately for Soto, because he'll presumably be ticketed for a one-inning relief role, he won't require an extensive ramp-up period and still looks on track to be a part of the Phillies' Opening Day bullpen.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Still resolving visa issues
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Soto remained absent from Phillies camp Tuesday due to ongoing visa issues, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
It's a pretty safe bet at this point that Soto is not going to be allowed to suit up for Team Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Even if he arrived at the Phillies' complex Wednesday, he'd have less than a week there before having to depart. The 28-year-old reliever was acquired via trade from the Tigers in January.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Might have to pull out of WBC
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Phillies manager Rob Thomson suggested Wednesday that Soto (visa issues) might have to be pulled out of the World Baseball Classic, Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Soto is currently part of the projected bullpen mix for Team Dominican Republic, but he has yet to report to Phillies camp in Florida due to visa complications. "At some point he's got to get into some [Grapefruit League] games before he goes to the WBC or else you're putting him at risk," Thomson said. The 28-year-old reliever was acquired from the Tigers in January and is expected to operate in a high-leverage role this season for the reigning NL champs.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Yet to arrive in camp
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Soto has yet to arrive at Phillies camp due to visa issues, per Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Soto close to the Phillies' facility in the Dominican Republic and can work out there while the visa situation gets resolved. He was acquired from the Tigers in January and projects to operate in a high-leverage bullpen role this year with Philly. Soto should see some save chances but is unlikely to operate as the team's primary closer as he did for Detroit.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Receives $3.9 million for 2023
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Soto agreed to a one-year, $3.925 million contract with the Phillies on Friday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
It's the first year of arbitration eligibility for Soto, and he'll receive a significant raise after he posted a 3.34 ERA with 48 saves while working as Detroit's closer for the past two seasons. The 27-year-old was acquired by the Phillies last weekend and is likely to see his save opportunities drop as a member of a closer committee that also features Craig Kimbrel and and Seranthony Dominguez.
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Phillies' Gregory Soto: Bound for Philadelphia
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Soto and Kody Clemens were traded from the Tigers to the Phillies on Saturday in exchange for Nick Maton, Matt Vierling and Donny Sands, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
Soto saved 30 games for the Tigers last season, but he's unlikely to get anywhere close to that figure in a more crowded bullpen in Philadelphia. His underlying numbers didn't support his 3.28 ERA and didn't paint him as closer material, with his 4.21 SIERA coming in nearly a run higher. His 22.8 percent strikeout rate was merely average, while his 12.9 percent walk rate was worryingly high. He's likely to be merely one of a handful of late-inning options in Philadelphia this season, with his number of save chances likely to be determined in some part by whether or not his control takes a step forward.
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Tigers' Gregory Soto: Takes another loss in finale
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Soto (2-11) allowed an unearned run while retiring just one batter to take the loss Wednesday against the Mariners. He gave up one hit and two walks.
Soto took the loss for the second night in a row, ending a mostly strong campaign on a sour note. The lefty finished with a whopping 11 losses, though he also had 30 saves in 33 opportunities, to go along with a 3.28 ERA and 60 strikeouts across 60.1 innings. Though he can be volatile at times, Soto should head into 2023 once again closing games for Detroit.
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Tigers' Gregory Soto: Blows save, loses
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Soto (2-10) blew the save and took the loss in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader in Seattle, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits in one-third of an inning in a 7-6 extra-inning loss.
Soto entered the game in the 10th inning with the Tigers leading 6-5 and allowed two singles and a sacrifice fly as Seattle plated two runs to win the game. It was just his third blown save of the season and first since June 16. The lefty has a 2.08 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 15:7 K:BB in 13 innings since the beginning of September.
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Tigers' Gregory Soto: Nabs 30th save
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Soto pitched a clean ninth inning to earn the save in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Twins. He struck out two.
Soto, who came into the season with 20 career MLB saves, is now up to 30 in 32 chances this year. The lefty has a solid 3.17 ERA as well, and he's been even better lately with a 0.93 ERA across his last 10 games. Soto should continue to be a strong fantasy asset in 2023, even if the team around him struggles to win a ton of games.
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Tigers' Gregory Soto: Records 29th save
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Soto pitched a clean ninth inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Royals. He struck out one.
Soto cruised through the Royals on just 10 pitches to earn his 29th save of the season. After taking a loss back on Sept. 17, the lefty has rattled off four straight scoreless appearances, picking up a save in each of those games. Soto has established himself as a fairly reliable closer this year, and he should head into 2023 with the role locked up in Detroit.
