Mets acquire left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Orioles

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Jul 25, 2025

Published in Baseball

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SAN FRANCISCO — The Mets have made a move.

With less than a week until the July 31 trade deadline, the club made a move to bolster their bullpen by acquiring left-hander Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles on Friday in exchange for two minor league right-handers: Wellington Aracena (Low-A Brooklyn) and Cameron Foster (Double-A Binghamton).

A two-time All-Star for the Detroit Tigers, Soto went from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Orioles at the trade deadline last summer. A hard thrower with a 3.96 ERA in 45 games this season (36 1/3 innings), Soto is tough to hit when he throws strikes. However, the problem is throwing strikes. The 30-year-old Dominican has a 1.294 WHIP and an 11.3% walk rate that Statcast rates in the 11th percentile.

However, he doesn’t give up many home runs and he strikes out a lot of hitters. The Mets have a relief group that tends to give up a lot of walks while also boasting high strikeout numbers. Soto mostly uses four pitches, primarily working off of a 96-97-mph sinker with good rise, and a slider that misses bats. He also throws a four-seam fastball, a sweeper and an occasional splitter.

The trade gives the Mets another high-leverage arm and another left-hander, with Brooks Raley currently being the only southpaw in the ‘pen. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Soto has held hitters to a .227 average with no home runs this season and a .170 average in high-leverage innings.

Aracena is the higher-rated pitching in the deal. A 20-year-old Dominican, he was signed as a free agent in 2022. In four seasons in the Mets’ system, he’s gone 7-1 with a 4.53 ERA. A big arm and a hard-thrower, he’s only been able to start throwing strikes consistently in the last 4-6 weeks. One scout told the New York Daily News that Aracena could eventually be a right-handed Soto — tough to hit when able to throw strikes.

Aracena has the potential to be a legitimate prospect, but he’s still a project for the Orioles.

Foster is a 26-year-old former 14th-round pick out of McNeese State. He’s gone 5-2 with a 2.97 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A this season.

The Mets start a six-game road trip through San Francisco and San Diego on Friday night. Both teams are battling with the Mets in the NL wild-card race, but after sweeping the Los Angeles Angels earlier this week, the Mets enter the weekend series against the Giants in first place in the NL East.

San Francisco is currently one game back from a wild-card spot, just behind NL West rival San Diego.