Pirates to Sign Gregory Soto
p/c: Megan Briggs
While the Pittsburgh Pirates may have lost out on Kyle Schwarber, who re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, they didn’t come out of the Winter Meetings empty-handed. According to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo, the Pirates have agreed to sign veteran left-handed reliever Gregory Soto to a one-year deal worth $7.75 million.
Soto spent his first four seasons with the Detroit Tigers, where he was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022.
Starting out this year with the Baltimore Orioles, Soto put up a 3.96 ERA, along with a FIP of 3.33 in 45 appearances.
On July 25th, the Orioles traded Soto to the New York Mets. In 25 games for the Mets, he posted a 4.50 ERA, but had a better 3.55 FIP.
Opposing batters hit Soto’s sinker in 2025 at a .314 clip. However, he limited hitters to a batting average against of .156 on the slider and .111 on the sweeper. Combined with both secondary pitches, Soto induced a whiff rate of 50.6%.
The Pirates were in search of lefty relief help this offseason, and get one of the better arms on the market in Soto. It’s likely he will be used in a setup role to Dennis Santana.