With the Baltimore Orioles out of contention in a crowded AL East, the expectation has been that the club would sell some of their veteran pieces ahead of the July 31 deadline, and that sell-off started this weekend with leftyGregory Soto going to theMets.
Soto, 30, is a two-time All-Star and was having a solid season for the O’s, pitching to a 3.96 ERA in 45 appearances. Perhaps most importantly to the Mets, though, is the fact that Soto has held opposing lefties to just a .138 batting average.
While Soto wasn’t active for Saturday night’s win over the Giants, he did speak to reporters in the visitor’s clubhouse, expressing his excitement to land with a contending club.
“I was excited. I wasn’t necessarily expecting it to happen,” Soto said, via a translator. “But when I was still with the Orioles when we faced [the Mets] over there, I was a little more motivated to kind of show them what I was capable of doing just so they could see what I was able to do so that they could trade for me.
“We all read the news and we knew the Mets were looking for a left-handed reliever, when we heard that news I was a little bit more motivated to show what I was capable of doing.”
In addition to his success against lefties, Soto also has experience when it comes to pitching in the postseason, as he pitched in the playoffs in each of the past two seasons (Philadelphia in 2023, Baltimore in 2024).
The hard-throwing lefty said that he admires what the Mets have been building, and he’s looking forward to another chance at pitching in October.
“The way that they play the game, the culture that they have here, they have a lot of Latinos here as well,” said Soto. “This is a team that wants to win, and I want to win a championship, so that’s why I want to be here.”
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