The New York Mets were reported to be looking to strengthen the bullpen ahead of the trade deadline, and the National League East team did that by trading for Gregory Soto on Friday.
The two-time All-Star closer arrives in Queens from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor league pitchers Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster.
The left-handed reliever revealed on Saturday that he wanted to impress his new employers when he faced the Mets for the Orioles earlier this month.
•
Soto shared the reason behind his desire to join the team.
"The way they play the game, the culture that they have here, a lot of Latinos as well,” Soto said. “This is a team that wants to win, and I want to win a championship, so that is why I want to be here.”Mets manager reflects on Gregory Soto's arrival
The Mets bullpen has seemingly struggled against lefty hitters, and Gregory Soto's arrival fills that gap, as the 30-year-old has been solid in high-leverage situations, conceding a .516 OPS.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza shared and hailed the lefty pitcher after his arrival.
"The biggest thing is his ability to come in when there’s high leverage and there’s pressure there,” Mendoza said. “Obviously, he’s a piece that’s going to help us, and I’m excited about it.”Soto will join another lefty, Brooks Raley, who joined the bullpen after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
"There’s been a lot of faces walking through those doors,” Mendoza said. “Now we've got Raley back, and we’ve seen the impact right away. To be able to add another lefty … allows me to deploy one of them earlier in the game and the other one for the later innings … to match up with some of the lineups that we’re going to be facing.”Gregory Soto joins the Mets, who extended their winning streak to six games, with five of them coming on the road.
Why did you not like this content?
- Clickbait / Misleading
- Factually Incorrect
- Hateful or Abusive
- Baseless Opinion
- Too Many Ads
- Other
Was this article helpful?
Thank You for feedback
About the author
Edited by Chaitanya Prakash