PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies further strengthened their bullpen on Saturday, acquiring two-time All-Star Gregory Soto from the Tigers in a five-player deal.
Alongside Soto, Philadelphia infielder Kody Clemens is getting in exchange for outfielder Matt Vierling, utility player Nick Maton and catcher Donny Sands (the No. 21 in the Phillies according to the MLB pipeline).
Get Phillies: LHP Gregory Soto, INF Kody Clemens
get tiger: UTIL Nick Maton, OV Matt Vierling, C Donny Sands (Phillies’ prospect #21)
Soto, who had a 3.28 ERA and made 30 saves for the Tigers last season, is one of the hardest-shooting lefties in the majors. His four-seam fastball averaged 98.7 mph last season, making it the second-fastest qualified pitch by any left-hander — only behind new teammate Jose Alvarado’s sinker (99.6 mph).
These two flame-throwing lefties share a bullpen with right-hander Seranthony Domínguez, who averaged 98.2mph on his sinker and 97.6mph on his fourseamer.
The move to acquire Soto also comes just two days after the club introduced veteran legal professional Craig Kimbrel, who ranks seventh all-time with 394 saves in his career.
That should give manager Rob Thomson plenty of chances to finish games – something that bodes well for a skipper who prefers not to have a set closer. Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, acknowledged that one of the club’s goals this offseason was to hoard as many highly leveraged relievers as possible on the back end of the bullpen.
“We feel like we have what it takes to be a really good bullpen,” Dombrowski said when Kimbrel was introduced Thursday. “We’ve got quite a few guys who can take a run lead late in the game, which we think is extremely important.”
Soto certainly contributes to this group, although he tends to make things interesting. The 27-year-old, who is under team control until 2025, has averaged 5.3 walks per nine innings over his four-year career, including 5.1 last season. His strike rate also fell from 29.6 percent in 2020 and 27.5 percent in 21 to 22.8 percent in 22. He also allowed an average exit speed of 91.4 mph, the sixth-highest mark out of 358 qualified pitchers .
Still, Soto is looking to help a Phillies bullpen who – while rising during the club’s 2022 NL pennant run – posted an overall ERA of 3.97 last season. That was 18th in the majors, but it was a small step up from 2021 (4.39 ERA, 19th) and a drastic improvement on the disastrous 20’s campaign (5.14, 27th).
The Auxiliary Corps shone when Thomson took over for the first time after the Phils parted ways with Joe Girardi on June 3. At the time, Philadelphia’s bullpen had a 4.10 ERA ranking 21st in the major leagues. From that point through the end of July, the pen recorded a 3.51 ERA, good for the eighth best mark in MLB. While the team struggled with injuries on the track, the rescuers posted a 4.99 ERA in August and a 4.62 ERA in September.
However, as the Phillies relied more heavily on their high-leverage arms in the postseason, the Pen responded with a 2.62 ERA over 68 2/3 innings.
Though David Robertson (signed with the Mets), Zach Eflin (Rays) and Brad Hand (free agent) are now gone, the Phils have the group back with Soto, Kimbrel, Matt Strahm and Erich Uelmen, who was acquired by the Cubs filled up Wednesday.
As for the other parts of the Soto deal, Vierling — despite serving as the Phillies’ starting midfielder for a time last season — was relegated to platoon appearances against left-handed pitchers after Trade Deadline acquired outfielder Brandon Marsh.
Maton, meanwhile, delivered valuable innings in August and September as the Phillies navigated key injuries along the way. An infielder by nature, he made 10 appearances at each corner of the outfield to stand in for Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, and also appeared as second, third and shortstop.
Clemens, the son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, provided similar versatility in Detroit last season. The 26-year-old made appearances at first base, second base, third base and left field — and even completed seven pitching appearances — all while making 127 plate appearances after his MLB debut in May .145/ .197/.308 cut up 31 last season.