Baltimore Orioles Lose Infielder to Cincinnati Reds

The Baltimore Orioles have lost an intriguing infield option in their farm system.

May 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Baltimore Orioles hat and glove / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

This offseason, much of the conversation around the Baltimore Orioles' infield was about when and where Jackson Holliday would play.

After they announced Gunnar Henderson would primarily be playing shortstop, they moved the No. 1 prospect to second base during spring training to give him more reps at that position.

Holliday didn't make the Opening Day roster, but he's been part of the team since his call up just over a week ago. While he's certainly been struggling at the Major League level, it doesn't seem like the Orioles are panicking and they'll give him every opportunity to prove himself.

Ahead of the star prospect's eventual promotion, the front office wanted to make sure they still had solid depth within their pipeline.

They had previously claimed infielder Livan Soto off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels this winter before they designated him for assignment and the Angels once again snatched up their former farmhand.

Baltimore got him back into their organization on April 11 where he played one game at Triple-A Norfolk before he was DFA'd following the promotion of catcher David Banuelos to their MLB roster.

Now, Soto has a new home.

According to Jake Rill of MLB.com, the Cincinnati Reds have claimed the 23-year-old off waivers.

He's an intriguing prospect because in his 22 Major League games played for Los Angeles between 2022-23, he slashed .375/.414/.531 with one home run, nine RBI, and seven extra-base hits.

Yet, he still hasn't quite been able to stick on a roster.

It will be interesting to see if the infielder can finally maintain some playing time with the Reds since their normal second baseman Matt McLain is on the 60-day IL with a shoulder injury.

For the Orioles, they never like to have talented players leave their organization, so losing someone like Soto certainly hurts, even if their infield is already crowded.