Elliot Soto

Elliot Sebastian Soto (born August 21, 1989) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Minnesota Twins organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels. After spending 10 seasons in the minors, Soto made his major league debut on September 25, 2020.[1]

Elliot Soto
Soto with the Albuquerque Isotopes in 2019
Minnesota Twins
Infielder
Born: (1989-08-21) August 21, 1989
Elgin, Illinois
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 25, 2020, for the Los Angeles Angels
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.333
Home runs0
Runs batted in0
Teams

Amateur career

A native of Elgin, Illinois, Soto attended Dundee-Crown High School. He was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 2007 MLB Draft, but chose to attend Creighton University, where he played college baseball for the Creighton Bluejays. In 2009, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Mets of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2] He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 15th round of the 2010 MLB Draft.

Career

Chicago Cubs

Soto spent his first year in the minors primarily with the Class A Short Season Boise Hawks, but had briefs stints in Rookie and Class A ball for the Cubs. In 52 games that year, he hit .272. In 2011, Soto appeared in 112 games combined between Class A Peoria and Class-A Advanced Daytona, hitting .271.[3]

In 2012, Soto was promoted to Double-A where he spent the majority of the season with the Tennessee Smokies, hitting .220/.310/.282 in 82 games. In 2013, Soto split time between Tennessee and Daytona hitting .219 with 2 home runs in 84 games. Soto got promoted to Triple-A Iowa in 2014, and .241 in a 29-game stint with the Cubs.

Miami Marlins

On July 31, 2015, Soto was traded to the Miami Marlins along with RHP Ivan Pineyro for RHP Dan Haren.[4] He spent the entire 2015 season at the Double-A level, hitting .256/.366/.292 in 120 games. Soto spent his entire 2016 season with the New Orleans Zephyrs, hitting .241 in 62 games. He became a free agent after the year on November 7, 2016.

Chicago Cubs (second stint)

On December 14, 2016, Martínez signed a minor league contract to return to the Chicago Cubs organization. For the 2017 season, Soto played all his 81 games with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, and hit .238 with 2 home runs.[5] He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017.[6]

Colorado Rockies

That offseason, Soto briefly signed with Acereros del Norte of the Mexican League before signing with the Colorado Rockies. He played the 2018 season in Triple-A Albuquerque, hitting .286/.347/.382 over 81 games.[7] He returned to the Isotopes in 2019, where he had his best offensive season of his minor league career, which saw Soto hit .305 with an .860 OPS and a career high 10 home runs in 112 games.

Los Angeles Angels

Soto elected free agency following the 2019 season and signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training with the Los Angeles Angels.[8] On September 22, 2020, the Angels selected his contract following Andrelton Simmons’s decision to opt out of the rest of the shortened 2020 season.[9] He made his debut on September 25, appearing as a pinch runner in a 9-5 Angels loss. The next day, he made his first career start,[10] and after teammate Jahmai Jones notched his first career hit, Soto went back-to-back with a single in his first at bat, becoming the first pair in Angels history to record back-to-back first career hits.[11] On October 30, 2020, Soto was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 18, 2020, Elliot Soto signed a minor-league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers with an invite to Spring Training.[12] He spent the entire season in Triple-A with the Oklahoma City Dodgers, where he hit .230 in 54 games.[13] Soto became a free agent following the season.

Minnesota Twins

On February 21, 2022, Soto signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.[14] He had his contract selected on June 13, 2022 and was designated for assignment the next day without appearing in a game. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints on June 16.[15] He elected free agency following the season on October 10.[16]

On November 23, 2022, the Twins re-signed Soto to a minor league deal.

References
  1. Bollinger, Rhett (September 26, 2020). "Soto makes big league debut at age 31". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  2. "#3 Elliot Soto - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  3. "Elliot Soto Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  4. Muskat, Carrie (July 31, 2015). "Cubs find fifth starter, land Haren from Miami". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  5. "2017 Iowa Cubs Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  6. "Outgoing Cubs Minor League Free Agents: John Andreoli, Trey Martin, Among Others". bleachernation.com. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  7. Boone, Tony (June 24, 2019). "Former Creighton standout Elliot Soto cleared his mind in Mexico and now thrives in Triple-A". omaha.com. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  8. Page, Vincent (December 19, 2019). "LA Angels Add Infielder Elliot Soto on Minor League Deal". Halo Hangout. FanSided. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  9. Byrne, Connor (September 22, 2020). "Andrelton Simmons Opts Out Of Remainder Of Season". majorleaguetraderumors.com. MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  10. Bollinger, Rhett (September 26, 2020). "Trout again misses out on 'the biggest thing'". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  11. Bollinger, Rhett (September 27, 2020). "First MLB hits? Cool. Back to back? Wow!". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  12. Hoornstra, J.P. (December 18, 2020). "The Dodgers have signed free agent infielder Elliot Soto, per his agent, Marc Kligman. It's a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training". Twitter.
  13. "Elliot Soto Minor, Fall & Winter League Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  14. "Twins, Elliot Soto Agree To Minor League Deal". MLB Trade Rumors. February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  15. "Twins' Elliot Soto: Outrighted to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  16. "Elliot Soto: Becomes free agent". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
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