ANAHEIM -- The Angels scratched José Soriano from his scheduled start against the Brewers Saturday night, citing uncertainty as Monday's 3 p.m. PT Trade Deadline approaches.
"Today, Jose Soriano will not make his scheduled start," baseball operations consultant John Mozeliak said. "With the Trade Deadline on Monday and the uncertainty of the next 48 hours, we decided to take a prudent approach and see where these next few days lead us."
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The Angels' bullpen, tasked with nine innings, performed well enough to give them a chance to win. Four pitchers allowed three runs on five hits with nine strikeouts in a 3-1 loss to the Brewers.
Brent Suter pitched two scoreless innings to open the game, and Brett Kerry, who was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake City before the game, allowed one run in four innings via a solo home run to Jake Bauers.
“I thought he was awesome,” manager Kurt Suzuki said of Kerry. “We saw him earlier in the year in Arizona, and the guy knows how to pitch. He throws strikes, attacks the zone, mixes in his pitches. I thought he did great, four innings and gave us a chance to win.”
Samy Natera Jr. cruised through the seventh inning before allowing an eighth-inning double to Jackson Chourio, who scored on a go-ahead single by Brice Turang.
Soriano was told after Friday’s 6-2 loss that he would not be pitching on Saturday.
“There are a lot of things going on right now,” Soriano said. “Everybody is thinking about the trades; it happens. But at the same time, we try to stay positive and focused on winning. This part of the season is always crazy, but we have to be prepared for anything to happen.
“I just focus right now on trying to help the team. I’m not able to pitch today, but I still try to support my teammates. Whatever happens, I’m good with that.”
The 27-year-old Soriano posted a 0.84 ERA through his first seven starts through the end of April before coming back down to earth with a 5.14 ERA over his next 13 outings, finishing the first half with a 3.49 ERA in 20 starts.
In two starts since the break, Soriano allowed two earned runs over 12 innings (1.50 ERA), with 12 strikeouts and four walks. The key for Soriano is simply throwing strikes, as he’s had issues with walks this season but has tantalizingly good stuff. He's under team control through 2028, so if dealt, he would not be a rental player.
There are few pitchers in baseball with an arsenal that can match Soriano's; he possesses a 96.5 mph power sinker to go along with his 92 mph splitter and 85 mph knuckle curveball. He's also been throwing his 98 mph four-seamer much more than in the past, which has helped him generate more strikeouts at the top of the zone.
Soriano is also just one of a handful of starting pitchers with a ground-ball rate above 50 percent -- at 52.3%, which is in the 90th percentile of all MLB pitchers. He posted an incredible 66 percent ground-ball rate (100th percentile) last year.
Soriano underwent Tommy John surgery as a Minor Leaguer in February 2020 and was lost to the Pirates with the No. 1 overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft. But he was returned to the Angels in November 2021 after he had another operation on his right elbow. Soriano made a full recovery, and it turned out to be a blessing for the Angels.
“He understands the situation,” Suzuki said. “It’s part of the business and things like that. He understands everything. We talked to him, and he was great. He’s fine with it.”
“If it happens, I will take it," Soriano said of being traded. "I’m going to feel a little sad, because I have a long time here, but at the same time, I’m going to be happy because I can help another team.”