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Giovanni Soto

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/9/17

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Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the league (all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted)…

Latest transactions

  • The White Sox released left-hander Giovanni Soto, according to the official Twitter feed of their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte.  Soto struggled to a 5.33 ERA over 25 1/3 relief innings in Charlotte, thanks to some uncharacteristic problems with the long ball — he allowed four homers over his 25 1/3 IP this year after giving up just 28 homers in his previous 514 career innings in the minors.  It has been a busy 14 months for Soto, who has been property of five different organizations since April 2016.
  • Right-hander Mike Bolsinger has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced.  Bolsinger was designated for assignment earlier this week.  The 29-year-old posted a 5.61 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 1.11 K/BB rate over 25 2/3 IP for Toronto this season, making five starts as a fill-in for the many injury absences on the Jays’ staff.

Earlier today

  • Right-hander Miguel Socolovich was outrighted to the Cardinals’ Triple-A after clearing waivers. St. Louis designated the 30-year-old for assignment in late May after he allowed 18 runs in 18 2/3 innings of work. The well-traveled righty has a 4.25 ERA over the life of 82 2/3 Major League innings, and he’s averaged 7.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in that time. Socolovich could’ve elected free agency but instead accepted his assignment and will hope for another crack at the Majors later in 2017.
  • The Mariners have added shortstop Ryan Jackson on a minor league contract. The 29-year-old last saw Major League work with the Angels in 2015 and has struggled in his limited exposure to the big leagues, going just 2-for-33 in 39 plate appearances. He’s long been a solid performer at the Triple-A level, though, where he’s posted a collective .273/.352/.352 batting line across parts of six seasons.
  • Former Giants righty Mike Broadway was cut loose by the Nationals after yielding 20 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse. The 30-year-old entered the season with a career 2.96 ERA in 127 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level but has been uncharacteristically hittable. Broadway has just 22 2/3 innings of Major League experience, all coming with the 2015-16 Giants. While the resulting 6.75 ERA isn’t pretty, he does have a track record of missing bats and limiting walks in Triple-A.

White Sox Outright Rymer Liriano, Giovanni Soto

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The White Sox have outrighted outfielder Rymer Liriano and lefty Giovanni Soto, the team announced (via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, on Twitter). Both players cleared waivers and were assigned to Triple-A.

With four open spots on the 40-man roster, the club has the room needed to add non-roster invitees Cody Asche, Anthony Swarzak, and Geovany Soto (not to be confused with the similarly named reliever), Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets. If those three make the active roster, as expected, the organization could have another spot to play with as teams around the league tweak their own rosters.

White Sox Claim Giovanni Soto

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The White Sox claimed lefty Giovanni Soto off waivers from the Athletics, Oakland has announced. The A’s had only just added Soto when he became available from the Cubs during the World Series.

Soto, 25, has minimal big league experience. But he has shown the ability to generate some whiffs in the upper minors, and obviously has enough stuff to draw the attention of multiple major league organizations.

Though he has increasingly struggled to keep the ball in the zone, Soto has typically been tough to hit and score runs against. But the 2016 season wasn’t his best, as he allowed 5.7 walks per nine en route to a 5.14 ERA in 49 frames. On the positive side, he did strike out just over ten batters per nine and record a 56.6% groundball rate on the year while holding opposing lefties to a .254/.351/.343 batting line.

Athletics Claim Left-Hander Giovanni Soto From Cubs

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The Athletics announced that they’ve claimed left-handed reliever Giovanni Soto off waivers from the Cubs. Soto was designated for assignment four days ago when the Cubs needed to clear a 40-man roster spot to send Kyle Schwarber to the Arizona Fall League in preparation for his improbable World Series return.

The 25-year-old Soto, not to be confused with the catcher that was the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year with Chicago (Geovany Soto), has pitched just 3 1/3 innings in the Majors — all of which came in 2015 as a member of the Indians. The southpaw spent the 2016 season with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate, pitching to a 5.14 ERA with 10.1 K/9, 5.7 BB/9 and a 56.6 percent ground-ball rate in 49 innings out of the Iowa bullpen. Soto’s ERA was the result of his poor control more than opponents hitting him especially hard; though he allowed slightly more than a hit per inning, only three of those hits left the yard. Opponents hit .274 against Soto but slugged just .387. In 111 innings of Triple-A ball, Soto has a 3.96 ERA with with a 114-to-69 K/BB ratio.

Certainly, it’s not a given that Soto will survive the winter on Oakland’s 40-man roster. Players that are claimed early in this manner often bounce around the league over the course of the offseason, but the left-hander does have minor league options remaining, so if he makes it to Spring Training with the A’s, he can be sent down without the risk of first exposing him to outright waivers.

Cubs Designate Giovanni Soto For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated left-hander Giovanni Soto for assignment, the team announced.  The move creates a 40-man roster spot for Kyle Schwarber, who was activated from the 60-day DL to join the Arizona Fall League in an improbable quest to make Chicago’s World Series roster (if the Cubs can advance).

The Cubs acquired Soto from the Indians for cash considerations in April.  Ironically, Soto’s spot on Chicago’s 40-man roster was originally created when Schwarber was placed on the 60-day DL in the wake of his seemingly season-ending knee surgery.  Soto, 25, spent all of 2016 pitching at the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate, posting a 5.14 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 1.77 K/BB rate over 49 relief innings.

The southpaw was originally a 21st-round pick for the Tigers in the 2009 draft, though he spent just over a year in Detroit’s organization before being dealt to Cleveland as part of the trade that sent Jhonny Peralta to the Tigers.  Soto has pitched mostly out of the bullpen in recent years, and he owns a 3.29 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 2.3 K/BB rate over 514 career innings in the minors.  His Major League experience consists 3 1/3 scoreless innings over six games with the Tribe in 2015.

Cubs Acquire LHP Giovanni Soto From Indians

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The Cubs announced today that they have acquired left-handed reliever Giovanni Soto from the Indians in exchange for cash considerations. Cleveland had designated the 24-year-old southpaw for assignment last week. Kyle Schwarber has been transferred to the 60-day DL in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Soto, of course, is not to be confused by the catcher of the same (but differently spelled) name that won 2008 Rookie of the Year honors in a Cubs uniform. This Soto was a 21st-round pick by the Tigers in the 2009 draft that was ultimately traded to the Indians in exchange for Jhonny Peralta back in 2010. The Puerto Rican lefty made his big league debut with Cleveland last season, logging 3 1/3 scoreless innings without a walk or strikeout. Soto has posted very strong ERA marks throughout his minor league career, but he has struggled with his control in at the Triple-A level, averaging 5.5 walks (and 8.5 strikeouts) per nine innings to go along with a 3.03 ERA. Soto was tough on both lefties and righties last season, although in 2014 he posted a much more traditional platoon split.

The Cubs have optioned Soto to Triple-A Iowa, so he’ll serve as a depth piece for the team right now. Chicago already has two lefties — Clayton Richard and Travis Wood — in its Major League bullpen, to say nothing of lefty reliever C.J. Riefenhauser’s presence on the 40-man roster.

Indians Designate Giovanni Soto, Zach Walters For Assignment

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The Indians have designated Zach Walters and Giovanni Soto for assignment, as Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets.

Soto, a left-hander, appeared in six games for the Indians in 2015 but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A Columbus.  In 46 Triple-A appearances (including one start), Soto posted a 3.69 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9.  The soon-to-be 25-year-old is not to be confused with veteran catcher Geovany Soto, who is currently with the Angels.

Walters, 26, has appeared in 42 games for the Tribe over the last two years and has 82 big league appearances to his credit. The left fielder/shortstop came to the Indians in a 2014 deadline deal involving Asdrubal Cabrera.  After belting seven homers in the final weeks of the 2014 season, Walters’ power did not re-emerge at the major league level in 2015.

As the MLBTR DFA Tracker shows, Soto and Walters will now join a long list of players caught in the ten-day waiting period.

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