The Philadelphia Phillies have been focused on rebuilding their bullpen, adding Matt Strahm and Craig Kimbrel already this offseason. They added another significant piece to their relief corps as they ripped off the rebuilding Detroit Tigers.
According to Jon Morosi from MLB Network, the Phillies have acquired Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens from the Tigers. In exchange, Matt Vierling, Nick Maton, and Donny Sands are heading to Detroit.
Philadelphia Phillies add another solid arm to bullpen in trade with Detroit Tigers
A two time All Star and the Tigers’ former closer, Soto provides another option for the ninth inning in case Kimbrel implodes. He has produced a 3.34 ERA and a 1.363 WHiP in his 124 innings, striking out 136 batters with 74 walks. Lefties have produced a .225/.328/.277 batting line against him in 248 plate appearances, hitting just one homer and eight doubles. He is also under team control for the next three seasons, giving the Phillies a long term answer in the bullpen.
The 26 year old Sands has all of four plate appearances in the majors, each of which came last season. He did produce a solid .309/.413/.428 batting line with five homers and nine doubles in his 242 plate appearances at Triple-A last season, making it possible that he can find a backup role in Detroit.
Maton has spent parts of two seasons in the majors and has found some success. The utility man has a .254/.330/.434 batting line with seven homers and nine doubles in his 216 plate appearances over the past two years. He was essentially replaced by Clemens, who has similar defensive versatility but a better glove. Clemens has produced a meager .145/.197/.308 batting line with five homers and four doubles over his 127 plate appearances, but has had more success with the bat at Triple-A.
Vierling is likely to be another bench option in Detroit, a player capable of slotting anywhere in the outfield and has seen some time around the infield. He has a .260/.309/.374 batting line in his 434 plate appearances over parts of two seasons in the majors, hitting eight homers and 15 doubles. Vierling also has struggled defensively in center, having cost the Phillies six runs at the position in just 69 games.
Overall, this has to be considered a disappointing return. Soto may have his command issues, but he is an All Star caliber reliever who has proven that he can handle the ninth inning and still has three years of team control left. Considering the market cost for relievers in free agency, one would have had to imagine that the Tigers could have gotten much more than a trio of bench pieces for Soto’s services.
The Philadelphia Phillies bolstered their bullpen by acquiring Gregory Soto from the Detroit Tigers. It did not cost them much of anything to bring him on board.