Angels Select Niko Kavadas, Designate Luis Guillorme
4:05pm: The Angels have now made all of these moves official. Lopez and Kavadas have been selected, with Guillorme and Calhoun designated for assignment.
12:59pm: The Angels are calling up first baseman/designated hitter Niko Kavadas to make his major league debut, as first reported by Chuck Freeby. In order to make space for Kavadas on the roster, the Angels will designate infielder Luis Guillorme for assignment, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register adds. The Halos are also reportedly set to select the contract of infielder Jack Lopez and designate Willie Calhoun for assignment. All of those moves will be announced later today.
Kavadas, 25, was acquired from the Red Sox alongside three other minor leaguers in the trade sending reliever Luis Garcia to Boston prior to the deadline. He’s posted a combined .264/.400/.521 slash between the two organizations’ Triple-A affiliates this year, though it’s worth noting he’s struggled mightily with the Angels’ top affiliate in Salt Lake, batting just .159/.229/.341 in 48 plate appearances.
An 11th-round pick by the Red Sox in 2021, Kavadas has clear plus power. He hit 26 homers in 515 plate appearances across three levels in 2022, belted 22 homers in just 480 plate appearances last year, and already has 19 long balls in 383 plate appearances this season.
That big-time power comes with a familiar red flag, however, in the form of strikeouts. Fans have seen plenty of three-true-outcomes sluggers over the years, and Kavadas embodies that approach to its fullest extent. A whopping 57% of his professional plate appearances have ended in either a homer, walk or strikeout. This season, he’s punched out in 33.9% of his plate appearances — and that’s actually an improvement over last year’s 35.8% mark. He’s also drawn a walk in a gaudy 16.2% of his trips to the plate.
The 6’1″, 235-pound Kavadas is a well below-average runner, and scouting reports peg his glovework at first base to be below-average as well. His huge power is his carrying tool, and whether he’s able to make enough contact to get to that power with regularity will determine the type of future he has. Players who whiff this much in the upper minors don’t tend to make enough contact to succeed in the big leagues, although Baseball America wrote in 2023 that Kavadas is an “intelligent hitter” with at least a chance to close some of the holes in his swing as he gains more experience.
Nolan Schanuel, the Angels’ 2023 first-rounder, skyrocketed to the majors less than two months after being drafted and has settled in as the primary first baseman. The 22-year-old Schanuel is in many ways the opposite of Kavadas: a first-base prospect with elite bat-to-ball skills but more a more suspect power profile.
After a slow start to the season, Schanuel is hitting .269/.382/.409 with nearly as many walks (14.6%) as strikeouts (15.2%) through his past 250 trips to the plate. He’s slumped lately, but the Angels presumably want to keep getting him exposure to big league pitching. That the promotion of Kavadas coincides with the DFA of Calhoun — who’s seen 60 games at designated hitter this year — suggests that Kavadas and his simultaneously thunderous and porous left-handed bat could get the bulk of the Angels’ DH reps down the stretch.
As for the 29-year-old Guillorme, he’s split the season between the Braves and Angels, batting a combined .218/.285/.290 in 138 plate appearances. He’s never been a big threat at the plate, but the versatile Guillorme offers strong infield defense across second base, shortstop and third base. He’s a career .254/.336/.327 hitter in 961 plate appearances — the vast majority of which came with the Mets from 2018-23.
With the trade deadline behind us, Guillorme will be placed on outright waivers or released. He’s earning just a $1.1MM base salary this season and has about $266K of that yet to be paid out. He’s versatile, experienced and affordable enough that another club might consider placing a claim. Guillorme has more than five years of service, meaning he can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency and retain his entire salary. As such, if he clears waivers he’ll surely become a free agent and look to latch on with a new club — likely on a minor league deal. The new team would only owe him the prorated minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster/injured list.
Rockies Release Elias Diaz, Promote Drew Romo
3:10pm: The Rockies announced that Diaz has been given his unconditional release. He’s a free agent who can sign with any club at any point. Romo’s contract has indeed been selected from Triple-A Albuquerque in his place.
Colorado also reinstated left-hander Lucas Gilbreath from the 60-day injured list. A spot on the 40-man roster was already cleared by yesterday’s outright of Josh Rogers. Gilbreath has been out since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2023.
1:55pm: In place of Diaz, the Rockies are expected to select the contract of catching prospect Drew Romo, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. He’ll presumably slot into the Rockies’ primary catching role down the stretch and audition for a potential long-term gig behind the plate in Denver.
1:45pm: The Rockies are releasing catcher Elias Diaz, whom they placed on outright waivers earlier this week, reports Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base. Once he’s cleared release waivers, he’ll be free to sign with any club. The new team would only owe Diaz the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster or injured list. The Rockies will be on the hook for the remainder of this season’s $6MM salary.
That Diaz is slated to be released is an indicator that no other club was willing to take on his remaining $1.45MM salary (plus the $50K fee for placing a waiver claim). Colorado could’ve simply kept Diaz on the roster and attempted to waive him again later this month when he was owed less money, but it seems they’ll instead part ways with the veteran backstop entirely, granting him extra time to settle in with a contending club down the stretch. Diaz had been in the final season of a three-year, $14.5MM contract with the Rockies and is a free agent at season’s end anyhow, so the move to release him appears to primarily be about affording him the ability to latch on with a contending club while also clearing time for a look at Romo.
Releasing Diaz now will naturally raise questions as to why the Rockies didn’t move Diaz for even a modest return at last month’s trade deadline. It’s a fair gripe on the surface, although it stands to reason that if Diaz went unclaimed when he’d cost other teams around $1.5MM in total, there probably wasn’t a robust trade market for him when he was owed more money and the Rockies were seeking prospect value in return.
It’s still plenty arguable that the Rox should’ve sold high on him at last year’s trade deadline or perhaps in the offseason, but the Rox instead added some modest pieces and entered this year with visions of a more competitive club than they’ve ultimately fielded.
Diaz, 33, is hitting .270/.315/.378 on the season. That’s a solid-looking line, particularly for a catcher, though metrics like wRC+ (80) and OPS+ (88) feel he’s been below-average at the plate after adjusting for the Rockies’ hitter-friendly home environment. Either of those marks is passable for a backstop with solid defensive grades, however, and Diaz is just that. He’s delivered markedly improved framing grades in 2024 and been credited with plus marks in Defensive Runs Saved (5) and Outs Above Average (5).
Diaz has never been a plus hitter outside of a strong 2018 showing with the Pirates, but he owns a .254/.306/.406 line over the past four seasons, during which he’s averaged 17 homers per 162 games played. He’s not an elite catcher but is a serviceable option who’s had his share of big league success and experience. At the very least, he’s an upgrade over the backup option for many postseason hopefuls. And as long as he signs with a new club on or before Aug. 31, he’ll be eligible for his new team’s postseason roster.
As for the 22-year-old Romo, he was the No. 35 overall pick by the Rockies back in 2020 and ranked among the game’s top-100 prospects as recently as the 2022-23 offseason. He’s considered to be a glove-first catcher but has shown more offense in the upper minors across the past two seasons, including a quality .297/.339/.499 batting line in a very hitter-friendly Albuquerque setting this season (103 wRC+).
Scouting reports at FanGraphs, Baseball America and other outlets praise the switch-hitting Romo as a plus defender with a plus arm but well below-average power. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen noted that Romo had some uncharacteristic throwing issues last year (19% caught-stealing rate), but he’s bounced back in a big way with a heartier 29% rate in 2024.
With Diaz released and fellow backstop Jacob Stallings also playing on an expiring contract, Romo ought to be given a full run as the team’s starting catcher. Colorado doesn’t have any other near-ready catching prospects — Hunter Goodman can catch some, but they’ve used him more in the outfield — and certainly doesn’t have another one with Romo’s defensive chops.
Romo and Goodman could potentially shoulder the workload behind the plate down the stretch, depending on what comes of Stallings, who’s hitting .266/.367/.457 in 216 plate appearances while playing on a one-year, $2MM contract. Speculatively speaking, if the Rox are comfortable with Goodman collecting more playing time behind the plate, they could make a similar move with Stallings to the one they’ve made with Diaz.
Red Sox Designate Dominic Smith For Assignment
3:00pm: The Sox have formally announced Smith’s DFA and the reinstatement of Casas from the 60-day IL. Boston also reinstated Cooper Criswell from the injured list and optioned righty Chase Shugart to Triple-A Worcester.
2:10pm: The Red Sox will designate first baseman Dominic Smith for assignment today, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Smith’s DFA will presumably clear the way for Triston Casas to be reinstated from the 60-day IL — as has been previously reported — and reclaim the everyday first base job in Boston.
Smith opted out of a minor league deal with the Rays back on May 1 when a big league spot with the Red Sox became available in the wake of Casas’ injury. He’s hardly replaced the offensive contributions that Casas can offer, but Smith hasn’t been too far off a league-average bat in Boston, slashing .237/.317/.390 with six homers and 20 doubles in 278 plate appearances. By measure of wRC+, he’s only been about 5% worse than average at the dish.
Still, for an offensively inclined position like first base, that’s not much production — particularly since Smith also grades out as an average defender at best. Defensive Runs Saved had him as a positive last year but pegs him at -2 in 2024. Statcast’s Outs Above Average has had him slightly above-average in each of the past three seasons but below-average in his career overall. It’s fair to suggest Smith has improved his glovework over the years, but he’s still not a standout defensive player at his position.
Now that he’s been designated for assignment, Smith will be either outrighted or released. It’s unlikely he’ll be claimed by another club, but he could latch on elsewhere on a new deal once he clears waivers. The Red Sox would be responsible for the remainder of his contract, minus the prorated minimum for any time spent on his new club’s big league roster/injured list.
Smith hasn’t lived up to his former top prospect billing, but he did have an impressive 2019-20 run that saw him slash .299/.366/.571 with 21 homers in 396 plate appearances. His bat has cratered with a .242/.312/.361 output in the four seasons since that time — numbers that roughly align with his results during his 84-game stint with the Red Sox. Smith reached six years of big league service while with the Sox, so he’ll be a free agent again at season’s end regardless of who signs him for the season’s final few weeks.
Nationals Outright Jordan Weems
The Nationals announced Friday that right-hander Jordan Weems cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Rochester. He was designated for assignment a couple days back. Weems has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, should he choose.
The 31-year-old Weems has logged 136 innings out of the Nats’ bullpen dating back to 2022, sandwiching a sharp 2023 campaign between a pair of tough seasons in 2022 and 2024. He’s been tagged for a grim 6.70 ERA with career-worst 17.9% and 12.2% strikeout and walk rates, respectively, in 2024. He’s just one year removed from a 3.62 earned run average, 25.9% strikeout rate and 12.1% walk rate in 54 2/3 innings, however. In 155 2/3 career innings between the A’s, D-backs and Nats, Weems has a 5.26 ERA.
Now that he’s cleared waivers, Weems can choose between free agency and reporting to Rochester. If he stays in the Nats organization, he’d have the right to become a minor league free agent at season’s end anyhow, as is true of all players with three-plus years of service who are outrighted off a major league roster and not added back by the end of the season.
Yankees Hopeful Jazz Chisholm Jr. Can Return In September
Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been prescribed rest and rehab for the UCL injury in his left elbow and is expected to play again this season, per Jon Heyman and Greg Joyce of the New York Post. He’ll likely still be sidelined into September, but it’s clearly good news for the Yanks that their most impactful deadline pickup won’t require immediate surgery and could return down the stretch.
Chisholm hit the injured list just two days ago after suffering a left elbow strain on a slide into home plate. As we’ve seen in the past with position players, it’s possible to play through ligament damage in the non-throwing elbow without being greatly impacted at the plate. (Both Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper have had productive stretches at the plate despite ligament injuries that required eventual surgery.) That’ll be the goal for the Yankees and Chisholm in the short term. There has yet to be any indication that eventual offseason surgery has been expressly ruled out. Presumably, that’ll hinge on how Chisholm’s elbow responds to the rest. Most — but certainly not all — sprains of the UCL do eventually require surgical repair.
The 26-year-old Chisholm has been a force in the Yankees’ lineup since being acquired from the Marlins in exchange for a prospect package headlined by young catcher Agustin Ramirez. In 14 games and 61 plate appearances, he’s ripped an incredible seven home runs while batting .316/.361/.702. That surge propelled Chisholm to 20 homers, and the five bases he’s swiped along the way have him at 27 steals on the year. It’s the first 20-20 season of the Bahamian-born infielder’s career.
Chisholm’s power-speed blend and potential for a 20-20 or even 30-30 season have long been apparent, but he’s been too prone to injury to realize that type of production until the 2024 campaign. He’s previously dealt with shoulder, back, foot and oblique injuries that limited him to a total of 281 games in three seasons from 2021-23. His latest injury appears that it’ll lead to another absence of some note, but if Chisholm is back for even half of September, he’d have time to surpass his previous career-high 124 games in a big league season.
The Yankees control Chisholm via arbitration through the 2026 season. He’s earning $2.625MM in 2024 and will be due a pair of raises in the next two offseasons. Chisholm has served as their primary third baseman since being acquired, although with Gleyber Torres slated to become a free agent at season’s end, a return to second base for Chisholm next season could be in the cards. His hot streak with the Yankees has boosted his season line from roughly average to a more productive .257/.328/.445, and Chisholm now touts a similar .254/.319/.468 slash with 53 long balls and 61 stolen bases through 1115 plate appearances dating back to 2022.
Red Sox Expected To Activate Triston Casas
The Red Sox are expected to reinstate first baseman Triston Casas from the 60-day injured list today, reports MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. The slugger should be back in the lineup for tonight’s matchup with the Orioles and ace Corbin Burnes.
Casas, 24, had a slow start in 2023 before finding his stride with a breakout five-month finish to last season. He largely picked up where he left off early in 2024, popping six homers in 90 plate appearances and slashing .244/.344/.513 before sustaining fractures on the left side of his ribcage and enduring a lengthy shutdown from baseball activities. The Sox have eased Casas back into action with an 11-game run in Triple-A Worcester, during which he’s turned in a hearty .300/.404/.550 slash in 47 trips to the plate.
The return of Casas should provide a thunderous boon to a Sox lineup that has received middling production from Dominic Smith in his absence. Smith hasn’t been an abject liability but has turned in a tepid .237/.317/.390 batting line that checks in 5% worse than league average, by measure of wRC+. Others like Romy Gonzalez, Garrett Cooper and Bobby Dalbec have filled in at times but have struggled to produce overall. (Cooper is no longer with the organization.)
While Casas’ return isn’t likely to turn the tides in the division race — at least not directly, though he could certainly impact the Orioles/Yankees battle for first place — he could very much be a difference-maker in Boston’s pursuit of a Wild Card berth. The Red Sox are eight games behind the Yankees and O’s, who are tied for the AL East lead, but they’re a more manageable 2.5 games back in the hunt for the third Wild Card slot. Getting a legitimate 30-homer bat back into the middle of the lineup — Casas has popped 30 homers while batting .260/.363/.493 in 154 games dating back to last season — has major ramifications for the remainder of the Red Sox’ schedule.
Casas is on the 60-day injured list, so Boston will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move in order to reinstate their prized young slugger. They don’t have an obvious candidate to replace him on the 60-day IL, unless they’ve quickly determined that James Paxton‘s partial calf tear is indeed a season-ender, so a DFA or waiver placement could be in the offing.
The Opener: Tigers, Díaz, Waiver Watch
Here are a few things we’ll be watching around baseball heading into the weekend:
1. MLB debuts for Tigers prospects:
The Tigers are set to add two potential infielders of the future — Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney — to their big league roster. Jung, the No. 12 pick in the 2022 draft, is widely ranked among the sport’s top 100 prospects and has slashed .257/.377/.454 with 14 homers, 23 doubles, a triple, two steals and a massive 16.1% walk rate in 91 Triple-A games this season. He’s split his time between third base and second base, with an emphasis on the former, and could slot in as the Tigers’ long-term option at the hot corner. If he can manage to do so, he’ll join his brother — the Rangers’ Josh Jung — as a cornerstone third baseman for an American League team.
Sweeney, twice traded in the past seven months, has gone from the Yankees to the Dodgers to Detroit — most recently as one of two players in the Jack Flaherty trade. Sweeney, 24, was the No. 20 overall pick in 2021. Considered a surefire shortstop defender with a more questionable offensive profile, Sweeney’s bat has erupted since joining the Tigers organization. He’s appeared in 11 games, taken 47 plate appearances and turned in an outrageous .381/.447/.667 slash with a pair of homers, six doubles and four steals. He’s now hitting .267/.345/.450 with 15 home runs and 20 steals on the season. Javier Baez is only halfway through a six-year contract, but he’s hit .222/.264/.349 in more than 1400 plate appearances with Detroit and shouldn’t stand in the way of Sweeney in the long-term if the younger shortstop option proves capable of handling big league pitching.
2. Will Elias Díaz still be a Rockie tonight?
The Rockies placed Elias Diaz on waivers Wednesday, a move that could trim $1.45MM off their payroll and position a respected veteran to join a contending club. The 2023 All-Star Game MVP, Diaz isn’t hitting for as much power as he did in ’23 but sports a .270/.315/.378 slash (80 wRC+) that could at the very least be an upgrade over several teams’ backup options behind the plate. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so it’ll become clear today whether Diaz was claimed or whether he’ll stick with the Rockies for now.
Even if he goes unclaimed, the Rox could put him back on waivers again later this month. Trying a second or even third time could work out differently; Diaz will be owed less money the closer we get to the Aug. 31 postseason eligibility deadline, and it’s always possible that a contending club could incur an injury behind the dish between now and the end of the month, which would alter their interest level.
3. Other waiver outcomes to watch:
Diaz isn’t the only notable veteran on waiver watch this weekend. The Dodgers designated Amed Rosario for assignment on Monday, and the Yankees designated veteran reliever Enyel De Los Santos for assignment on Wednesday. Neither has been claimed or cleared waivers yet. Both teams have up to five days to place their respective players on waivers, and waiting those maximum five days trims the amount of money a new team would need to commit in making a claim. There should be a resolution on Rosario this weekend, and it’s possible we’ll find out what’s next for De Los Santos as well.
Rosario is playing on an affordable one-year, $1.5MM deal and was hitting .305/.331/.415 in 287 plate appearances (with particularly stout numbers against lefties), but the Dodgers opted for superior defenders when making room for Mookie Betts‘ return from the IL earlier this week. Rosario has $363K remaining on his salary as of this writing and has a good chance to be claimed. De Los Santos was rocked for 10 runs in 6 1/3 innings with the Yankees after being acquired at the trade deadline, but he has a solid big league track record and is still averaging better than 95 mph on his heater. With $278K remaining on this year’s $1.15MM salary and two additional seasons of club control remaining, he could be viewed as a worthwhile flier — even from someone who’s not an immediate contender. In 159 innings from Opening Day 2022 through the day he was traded to the Yankees last month, De Los Santos posted a 3.50 ERA with a 26.4% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate.
Orioles, Matt Bowman Agree To Minor League Deal
The Orioles have agreed to a minor league pact with right-handed reliever Matt Bowman, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The ZS Sports client recently opted out of a minor league deal with the Twins. Bowman’s deal in Baltimore pays him a prorated $1MM base salary and contains an upward mobility clause next week (Aug. 22) and a straight opt-out clause on Aug. 28.
Baltimore will be Bowman’s fourth organization of the season. He’s pitched in both the majors and minors for each of the Twins, D-backs and Mariners as well in 2024. His big league work includes a 5.40 ERA in a small sample of 15 innings, but he’s posted an excellent 2.05 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate in 30 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. Originally a 13th-round pick out of Princeton by the 2012 Mets, Bowman has pitched 200 1/3 MLB frames across parts of six seasons. He owns a career 4.22 ERA, 18.8% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 55.6% grounder rate in the majors.
Bowman’s Orioles deal continues a dizzying string of transactions involving the journeyman righty this season. He originally signed a minor league deal with the Twins but was designated for assignment not long after being selected to the MLB roster and traded to the D-backs for cash. Upon being designated for assignment in Arizona, he cleared waivers and elected free agency, going on to ink a minor league deal with the Mariners. He was back in the majors shortly thereafter but designated for assignment a third time. Bowman elected free agency, re-signed with Seattle, triggered an opt-out a few weeks later, then re-signed with Minnesota on a new minor league deal — only to opt out of that minor league contract earlier this week.
The clauses in Bowman’s contract could lead to further movement in the two weeks ahead. Next week’s upward mobility clause would require the Orioles to gauge whether any of the other 29 clubs around the league is willing to put Bowman on the 40-man roster. If so, the O’s would need to either add him to their own 40-man roster or facilitate a move sending Bowman to the organization that’s willing to do so. His Aug. 28 out date would again give the O’s 48 hours to add Bowman to the roster and, if they choose not to, give Bowman a brief window to sign with a new team before Aug. 31 — the deadline for players to be eligible for their organization’s postseason roster.
Red Sox Outright Jamie Westbrook
Red Sox infielder Jamie Westbrook passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment earlier this week and has now been assigned outright to Triple-A Worcester, reports Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. He’ll stick with the organization but is no longer on the 40-man roster.
Westbrook signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox back in December and made his big league debut as a 29-year-old rookie earlier this season. The former D-backs draftee, who’s also spent time with the Yankees and Brewers organizations, got into 21 games and tallied 48 plate appearances. He managed just a .150/.234/.350 slash in that time, however.
Prior to his call to the majors, Westbrook was quite productive in Triple-A — as has been the case throughout his pro career. He hit .291/.381/.475 in 291 plate appearances for the WooSox (23% better than average, per wRC+), bringing his lifetime batting line in parts of six Triple-A seasons to a healthy .284/.377/.462 in more than 1700 plate appearances. He’ll now head back to Worcester and look for another shot down the stretch. If he doesn’t get one and isn’t added back to the 40-man roster before the end of the season, Westbrook will once again be able to become a minor league free agent.
Orioles Option Coby Mayo
Top Orioles prospect Coby Mayo will see his initial taste of the majors draw to a close after just seven games and 20 plate appearances. Baltimore announced Thursday that Mayo has been optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk. Infielder Livan Soto was recalled from Norfolk in his place.
Mayo, regarded as one of the top prospects not just in Baltimore’s system but in all of baseball, was called up shortly after third baseman Jordan Westburg suffered a fractured hand when he was hit by a pitch. Expectations were high, considering his prominent placement on national prospect rankings and his gaudy .301/.375/.586 batting line through 341 Triple-A plate appearances during just his age-22 season. However, like fellow top prospect Jackson Holliday before him, Mayo stumbled out of the gate with a strikeout-laden showing and was sent back to Triple-A in fairly short order. He went just 1-for-17 with three walks and 10 strikeouts in those 20 trips to the plate.
There’s no sense in making any long-term judgment on Mayo based on a tough week in his first glimpse of the majors. Many detractors were quick to write Holliday off after similar early struggles, and he’s returned from Norfolk with a .255/.314/.596 line and five home runs in 51 plate appearances. Twenty ugly plate appearances don’t say anything about Mayo’s long-term future other than that he might yet need a bit more work in the upper minors before he gets his next big league audition.
In sending Mayo back to Norfolk, the O’s seem to be committing to Ramon Urias as the primary third baseman in Westburg’s absence — although Soto could also see some run at the hot corner. The Orioles could also retain Mayo’s prospect/rookie status for the 2025 season as well, which would put them in position to potentially land a draft pick if he finishes well enough in ’25 Rookie of the Year voting. So long as Mayo finishes with fewer than 130 at-bats and fewer than 45 days on the active roster, he’ll still be eligible for that benefit. If that were a primary concern for them, they likely wouldn’t have brought Mayo to the big leagues in the first place, but retaining that possibility is now surely seen as an ancillary benefit of today’s move.
Urias, 30, seems likeliest to garner additional playing time. He drew sensational defensive marks at third base just two seasons ago, but both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have soured on his glovework at the position. At the plate, Urias has turned in a .236/.306/.372 slash at the plate this season, sitting about 5% worse than league-average overall (by measure of wRC+).
As for Soto, he’s hit extremely well in a small sample of 74 plate appearances, batting .358/.397/.507 dating back to 2022. It should be emphasized that his line is propped up by a gargantuan .451 average on balls in play that he won’t sustain, and Soto has a much more modest track record in Triple-A, where he’s hit .267/.364/.386 in 709 plate appearances as a utilityman.