ORLANDO, Fla. – While the main focus this offseason has been on improving the offense, the Pirates’ first free agent signing is instead addressing a key need in the bullpen.
According to a source, the club is in agreement with two-time All-Star Gregory Soto on a one-year, $7.75 million deal, pending a physical. The club has not confirmed the deal.
Soto, 30, gives the Pirates not only a much-needed extra leverage arm, but also the southpaw the bullpen was lacking.
Soto is coming off a campaign where he went 1-5 with a 4.18 ERA over 70 games, totaling 60 1/3 innings for the Orioles and Mets. While his ERA has been north of 4.00 the last three seasons after posting back-to-back All-Star campaigns in 2021 and 2022, most of his peripherals graded out nicely. That included holding hitters to a 4% barrel rate – which put him in the 97th percentile of pitchers – a 31.5% chase rate and 29.9% whiff rate. That yielded 70 strikeouts and a healthy 25.1% strikeout rate.
He did have some pronounced hand splits in 2025, though. Right-handed batters had an .801 OPS against him last season, while left-handers hit .192 with a .549 OPS.
When Soto clicks, he pitches off of his sinker that sits in the mid- to upper-90s and his wipeout slider, which had a 45.5% whiff rate. He’ll also mix in a four-seam fastball and a sweeper. Batters hit .314 off the sinker this year, but that average was just .200 in 2023. The pitch profiles similarly in terms of movement, but it is a tick slower, going from an average of 98.1 mph to 96.8 mph.
Missing out on Kyle Schwarber opened up the Pirates again on the free agent market, and while upgrading the offense is the greatest priority, adding a lefty to the mix was important as well. The bullpen’s potential leverage arms consist of Dennis Santana, Isaac Mattson and Justin Lawrence, all of whom are right-handed, and Soto gives the club someone who can manage lefties. The Pirates selected the contract of lefty reliever Tyler Samaniego earlier this winter, but included him as part of a trade with the Red Sox for Jhostynxon Garcia.
The Pirates’ bullpen is expected to look different in 2026 than it did at the start of 2025. Gone are the Opening Day de facto closer and setup man, David Bednar and Colin Holderman. Reliever prospects Brandan Bidois and Ryan Harbin have had their contract selected and been added to the roster. The backend of the bullpen is potentially still in flux, but Soto should figure to be part of that mix.
The Pirates’ roster is currently at 39 players. Soto’s contract is not official, meaning the club can still potentially select a player in Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft.