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. Reliever Brent Suter will open the game for the Angels instead.
“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.”
Soriano was told after Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Brewers 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 has 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%, his ground-ball this rate 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,” manager Kurt 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.”
Michael Huntley contributed reporting to this story.
