Former Phillies reliever bombs in Orioles debut, makes Dombrowski look like a genius

New uniform, same results. That was the case for recently traded left-handed relief pitcher Gregory Soto when he made his debut for the Baltimore Orioles this past weekend. Soto was shown the door last Tuesday in a surprise trade that saw the Philadelphia Phillies receive a pair of top-30 pitching prospects (Seth Johnson, No. 10, and Moisés Chace, No. 25) in exchange for the underperforming former All-Star closer.

It was recently reported that Soto had privately expressed his displeasure with his role in the Phillies bullpen and asked the team to seek out a trade to a team that had more opportunities for work in high-leverage situations. The Phillies found a familiar partner when they struck a deal with the bullpen-needy Orioles, just a few days removed from dealing reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache to the O's for outfielder Austin Hays.

Teams aren't exactly knocking down doors trying to acquire relief pitchers with a 2-4 record and 4.95 ERA, but Soto has a previous track record as a guy who saved 30 games and was named an All-Star closer for the Detroit Tigers in 2022, so its possible the Orioles were desperate to catch lighting in a bottle when they acquired Soto.

Former Phillies reliever Gregory Soto bombs in Orioles debut, makes Dave Dombrowski look like a genius

Soto entered his first high-leverage situation for the Orioles on Friday when he took the ball in relief of starter Dean Kremer, who was blasted for four earned runs on six hits in five innings of work. Tasked with keeping the game close, Soto was a nightmare in his 1/3 inning of work, allowing three hits, four earned runs and two walks, as the Guardians took a commanding 8-1 lead.

That's clearly not the type of first impression that Soto was hoping to make on his new ball club, and there's some obvious room for improvement. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wasn't shy about explaining the factors that led to Soto being traded out of town, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.

“We didn't necessarily get him as a closer,” said Dombrowski, per Zolecki “I think, a lot of times, he [Soto] envisions himself as a closer, which is fine. He's done fine for us by all means. We weren't dissatisfied with him. But the way we use our 'pen, I'm just not sure there ever was a way that he felt comfortable in that regard.”

The Orioles now have a bullpen that features three former Phillies relief pitchers: Craig Kimbrel, Soto and Domínguez. While each player had some solid moments wearing a Phillies uniform, Orioles fans are sure to be in for some very interesting late-inning situations over the last few months of the season.