Gregory Soto

Soto entered his first year of salary arbitration in line to receive a significant raise after recording 30 saves for Detroit in 2022. In turn, the cost-conscious Tigers traded the hard-throwing lefty to Philadelphia last January. Soto filled a setup role for the Phillies and recorded a career-high 24 holds while reducing his perennially high double-digit walk rate to a career-best 8.8 percent. The 28-year-old maintained a 97th percentile fastball velocity (98.3 mph average) while throwing his slider at a career-high 39 percent clip. The pitch induced a 49 percent whiff rate and held opposing hitters to a mere .160 average. Soto was particularly effective against left-handed batters (.127 BAA) and figures to reprise setup duties in 2024.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch announced Soto would enter 2022 as his closer only a few days after the 2021 season ended. With only a half-season of experience in the role and a career walk rate over 13%, expectations for the southpaw were low, especially given the veteran competition in Detroit's bullpen if things went south. However, Soto recorded a career high 30 of the Tigers' 38 saves last year for a 78.9% team save share that was third-highest among closers. He made his second All Star team and established career marks in ERA (3.28) and home run rate (0.3 HR/9) while still pumping heat at 98.4 mph on average. On the flip side, Soto's strikeout rate dipped nearly five percentage points to a league average 22.8%, while his 12.9% walk rate was sixth-worst among qualified relievers. Soto was already a risky long-term option for saves given these factors, and his trade to the Phillies in January makes him an even more volatile option. Philadelphia has Craig Kimbrel and Seranthony Dominguez headlining its closing committee, and Soto is likely to start 2023 as no better than No. 3 in that pecking order.

Soto was a first-time All Star last year while collecting six wins, seven holds and 18 saves with a 3.39 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 10.7 K/9 over 63.2 innings. Detroit used a closer committee for the first few months of 2021, but the job was Soto's alone from July through mid-September until a fractured finger ended his season. The southpaw possesses a nasty slider (.138 BA, 43% Whiff%) and brings 98-mph heat that ranks among the top 1% of the league, but he's a little wild with a 5.7 BB/9 that was eighth-worst among qualified relievers. Despite allowing a few too many baserunners, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch already named Soto the closer heading into 2022. Detroit is an up-and-coming team that finished 10th in the majors with 42 saves last season, so if Soto maintains the role all year, he could finish among the league leaders in saves. There is risk associated with the pick, but he's a fringe top-12 closer option.

Joe Jimenez's struggles led the Tigers to give other players opportunities for saves last year. Soto finished third on the team in that category with two, behind Jimenez (five) and Bryan Garcia (four). The second-year lefty's 4.30 ERA in 23 innings overall wasn't closer material, but it did at least come with some fairly interesting underlying numbers. His 13.3 BB% was poor, but his 29.6 K%, 53.7 GB% and 97.3 mph average fastball velocity were all well above average. Purely a sinker-slider reliever, Soto shut down lefties, holding them to a .391 OPS (albeit in a tiny sample of 27 plate appearances), while his .679 OPS allowed against righties wasn't bad either. Overall, his profile looks more like someone who could pitch in the seventh inning than the ninth, but the Tigers' lack of alternatives means Soto could add to his saves total in 2021, perhaps splitting the closer role with the right-handed Garcia.