The Mets have made their first bullpen addition ahead of the trade deadline.
New York has acquired LHP Gregory Soto in a trade with the Orioles, as first reported by SNY's Andy Martino.
"This is a guy who is used to pitching in this league in high leverage, not to mention he's a lefty," said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza before Friday's game at the San Francisco Giants. "Upper-90s sinker. The slider. The biggest thing is his ability to come in games when there's high leverage and pressure there. Obviously a piece that will help us, and I'm excited about it."
Right-handed pitching prospects Cameron Foster and Wellington Arecena are heading to Baltimore as part of the deal, which is pending medicals.
Arecena, the 19th-ranked prospect in the Mets' system according to MLB Pipeline, is a 20-year-old right-hander who has pitched to a 2.38 ERA and 1.13 WHIP while striking out an incredible 84 batters across 17 appearances in High-A this season.
Foster is a bit older at 26, but he's also enjoying a strong season and recently made the jump to Triple-A. He's struggling a bit at the new level, but has a 2.97 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 21 outings on the year.
This marks the third time in Soto's career that he's been traded.
He first broke into the league with the Tigers, but after four seasons he was shipped off to the Phillies, whom he spent a year and a half with before they traded him to Baltimore ahead of the 2023 deadline.
The 30-year-old has a 3.94 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 44 strikeouts, and 17 holds over 45 appearances.
He's been particularly effective against opposing southpaws, holding them to .138 average and .547 OPS.
Now in the Big Apple, he'll team up with Brooks Raley to give the Mets two steady left-handed options.
"Definitely helps," Mendoza said. "Grateful and thankful that the guys that have been here, they continuously help us. Whether it's righties, lefties, there's been a lot of new faces walking through those doors. We got Raley back and we see the impact right away.
"Another lefty allows me to deploy one of them earlier in the game and the other in the later innings. It's easier when they are both available to match up against some of the lineups we are going to be facing."
Soto is a free agent at the end of this season.
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