The Pittsburgh Pirates took their first big swings in free agency, missing on slugger Kyle Schwarber on a multiyear offer but signing a veteran left-handed, high-leverage reliever in Gregory Soto to a one-year, $7.75 million contract, a source confirmed Tuesday night to TribLive.
Where the Pirates offered Schwarber a long-term deal that would have been a club record — $125 million over four years, per MLB.com — the National League home runs and major league RBIs leader opted to re-sign with the Philadelphia Phillies for a reported five-year, $150 million deal.
Adding a lefty to the bullpen was a priority for the Pirates, whose 40-man roster features rookies Hunter Barco and Evan Sisk as the only left-handers on the pitching staff.
Soto, who turns 31 in February, is a power pitcher and two-time All-Star who has recorded 56 career saves. He’s especially effective against left-handed hitters, with a career .211/.306/.294 slash line, and has a reputation for shining in key situations that could make him an effective setup man for Dennis Santana or share the closer role duties.
The 6-foot-1, 243-pounder split last season between the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets, going 1-5 with a 4.18 ERA and 1.43 WHIP while averaging 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings in 70 appearances. Soto is 15-34 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 391 appearances for the Tigers, Phillies, Orioles and Mets in a seven-year major-league career. He was an All-Star with the Tigers in 2021, when he had 18 saves, and the following year, when he had 30 saves.
Soto has a four-pitch repertoire, though he leans heavily on two. He throws a sinker that averages 96.8 mph — the average for a lefty is 93.2 — on 52% of his pitches but was hit for a .314 average last season. Soto also throws a slider that serves as a putaway pitch, mixing in a four-seam fastball and sweeper.
Per Baseball Savant, Soto had above-average chase (31.5%) and whiff (29.9%) rates and an elite barrel percentage (4%) that ranked in the 97th percentile among major league pitchers.
