Details Emerge on What Led Philadelphia Phillies to Trade Veteran Reliever

Some information has been shared about why the Philadelphia Phillies traded veteran left-handed reliever Gregory Soto.

Jun 1, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Gregory Soto (30) pitches in the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia won 6-1. / John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies were quite active ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline. As one of the true contenders in baseball this season, they were looking to shore up a few areas on their team.

One unit that was focused on was the bullpen. In a series of trades, the Phillies shook things up with their group of relief pitchers.

The first player on the move was Seranthony Dominguez, who was traded to the Baltimore Orioles as part of the Austin Hays acquisition. After that, Philadelphia acquired Los Angeles Angels closer Carlos Estevez.

In two more deadline deals, the Phillies switched out one left-handed reliever for another. Tanner Banks was acquired from the Chicago White Sox, which led to the team completing another trade with the Orioles centered around Gregory Soto.

The former All-Star closer with the Detroit Tigers was unable to regain that form during his tenure with Philadelphia. Dave Dombrowski revealed that the Soto deal only materialized because they landed Banks.

“We would not have made the Soto deal unless we got Banks done," he said, via Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

That may be the story Dombrowski is going with, but a change of scenery is something that Soto and his representatives had been looking for.

Danielle Allentuck of The Baltimore Banner revealed the update on social media.

Gregory Soto said he and his agent told the Phillies that if the opportunity came up to go to another team he would want to. He was looking for a new environment and that he’s happy he’s getting that chance with the Orioles

— Danielle Allentuck (@d_allentuck) August 1, 2024

Why was Soto seeking a change of scenery?

According to Gelb, he was not happy with his role out of the bullpen in Philadelphia.

That was evident early in the season when Soto was called on to pitch the eighth inning of a six-run game. He struggled, recording one out and surrendering five runs, leading to some harsh words from manager Rob Thomson.

“After the game, Thomson scolded Soto, who had voiced his frustration about how he was used. There would be no more complaining about low-leverage situations, the manager said in not-so-uncertain terms,” Gelb wrote.

The Phillies skipper does not have traditional, set-in-stone roles for his relievers. It is something that takes time to adjust to, but Soto was never able to find his groove in that environment.

When his performance began improving, he asked for more high-leverage situations. He was rewarded for his performance, but once again fell short of expectations.

Last week against the Minnesota Twins, his inability to throw strikes left him buried on the relief pitcher pecking order once again. That is when talks among the brain trust began to figure out how Soto could be replaced.

Philadelphia landed on Banks and accommodated Soto and his reps by finding a new team for him to pitch for. What was a potentially ugly situation turned out to be a positive for both parties.