Soriano, March 27, spent his entire career with the Marlins until recently. The Orioles claimed him off waivers in November. Baltimore loves to take players off the wire and put them back there later, hoping the player clears waivers and can stay in the Orioles system. They recently designated Soriano for assignment when they claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel. They later designated Noel for assignment when they claimed Marco Luciano.
In this case, Baltimore’s attempt to get Soriano via waivers didn’t work as Atlanta picked him up. Atlanta certainly got some decent looks at the righty considering he played in their division. He logged 118 innings for the Marlins over the past three years, good for 5.95 earned runs per nine. His 22% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate were both slightly worse than average.
Teams like Baltimore and Atlanta are likely intrigued by his minor league numbers. Last year he threw 42 2/3 innings in Triple-A with an ERA of 2.32. He struck out 28.8% of batters and also kept batted balls on the ground at a rate of 55.7%. He also kept his walk rate at a more reasonable 8.8% at that level.
Soriano has exhausted his final option season in 2025, pushing him to a fringe roster. He has now been exempted twice, but claimed it twice. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he loses his roster spot again before the winter is over. For now, he has a spot with Atlanta. He has just over a year of service in the big league. That means he can be controlled for five full seasons and is still two years away from qualifying for arbitration.
Wisely, May 27 is in a somewhat similar position. He’s an infielder, not a pitcher, but he’s exhausted his options, leaving him a weak spot on the roster thanks to tepid big-league results. The Giants designated him for assignment in September, leading to Atlanta claiming him off waivers.
In 466 at bats in the big league, he hit just .214/.265/.319. But over the last three years he has a .276/.375/.436 line and 113 wRC+ at the Triple-A level. He has also collected a number of stolen bases in the minors and provides defensive versatility. He has experience at all four infield spots as well as all three outfield slots.
Like Soriano, he can be affordably controlled for another five seasons if he sticks to something. Given his multi-positional abilities and speed, he may find interest from a club looking to deepen his position. If he clears waivers, Atlanta could keep him in a non-roster role. He can stay in DFA limbo for up to a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Atlanta could take five days to generate trade interest, but they could also land him faster.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
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