Another Soto is coming to Queens. The Mets pulled off a trade on July 25 for former AL All-Star Gregory Soto, acquiring him from the Orioles for two pitching prospects. Soto joins a Mets bullpen in need of reliable left-handed pitching. The O’s, meanwhile, pick up a high-upside arm in the deal.
The Mets’ Return
- RP Gregory Soto (3.96 ERA, 44 K over 36.1 IP)
Former All-Star reliever Gregory Soto has bounced around the East Coast over the last three years. The Tigers traded him to Philadelphia in January 2023 and a year later, was bound to Baltimore. Now, he’ll join his third team in three years.
Soto’s advanced numbers this season have been just fine. The 30-year-old owned a strong 4.3% Barrel%, a number boosted thanks to his hard sinker and ability to keep the ball on the ground, as opposed to in the air.
Additionally, he misses a ton of bats off the slider (47.3% Whiff%), his go-to secondary offering. He’ll also mix in a sweeper and a four-seam fastball, the latter of which he uses to work hitters up in the zone.
However, his big flaw is the command, not shocking for a relief pitcher. Soto walked 18 over 36.1 IP and he’s sported a sub-10% BB% in just one of his seven seasons. But, that can be said for a lot of relievers.
Thanks to his ability to limit well-hit contact, Soto still retains value as a middle reliever who can be used in high-leverage situations.
Soto is a pending free agent.
The Orioles’ Return
- SP Wellington Aracena (2.38 ERA, 84 K over 64.1 IP (A))
- RP Cameron Foster (2.97 ERA, 39 K over 30.1 IP (AA and AAA))
The big return for Soto is 20-year-old Wellington Aracena, a 6’3” right-hander with big stuff and with a projectable future.
Command (4.90 BB/9) has been a big issue for Aracena throughout his young career, not just this year but in years past. However, the 20-year-old has a high upside.
Aracena boasts a premium four-seam fastball, one that regularly sat in the 98-99 MPH range and touched 101 MPH with St. Lucie (A). Not a ton of induced movement (13.8”) nor extension, though.
His pitch movement profile is all over the place, as Aracena doesn’t have a changeup with a well-defined shape, while that aforementioned four-seam can cut or stay flat. However, the upside here is enormous, given the velocity and the fact he can pair with a cutter & slider that he trusted.
The other piece in this deal is Cameron Foster, who spent all of 2025 bouncing between Double-A and Triple-A. The 26-year-old was drafted in the 14th round back in 2022 and spent 2023 and 2024 as a starter before moving to the bullpen.
Foster is a reliever with a starter’s arsenal, including a mid-90s fastball, along with a high-80s cutter, low-80s slider, and slower curveball.
Analysis
When A.J. Minter went down due to season-ending surgery, it left the Mets down their best left-hander out of the bullpen. Since then, the team’s been scrambling to address that hole.
Jose Castillo and Richard Lovelady have been among the lefties who’ve come to Queens, and most recently, Brooks Raley. Raley was a valuable arm for the Mets in 2023-24 before he needed elbow surgery last year.
With Soto, the Mets now have two — what the team hopes to be — reliable left-handers in the pen down the stretch, to support the likes of Edwin Diaz, Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett, etc.
And as noted multiple times on the site over the years, having pitchers who can give different looks is a must for playoff hopefuls. Soto gets more velocity, while Raley is a crafty lefty with a cutter, sweeper, and changeup.
As for the Orioles, Baltimore picked up a very projectable, albeit a raw arm. Aracena was one of the better arms in the Mets’ system, despite being unpolished.
Check out more of our MLB coverage, including our recap of the Josh Naylor trade.