White Sox: What can Neftali Soto bring to the organization?
A trade between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox became official on Monday afternoon, with the White Sox acquiring Neftali Soto for cash considerations to the Reds.
Dan Hayes of the CSN Chicago was first to report this trade via Twitter:
On minor league side, #WhiteSox acquired 1B/3B Neftali Soto from the #Reds for cash. Not on 40-man.
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) March 23, 2015
Soto is listed as a first baseman, third baseman and a pinch hitter, who stands at 6-1 and weighs 215 pounds. With this trade, the White Sox acquired a former third-round selection by the Reds in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player draft, and he made his MLB debut on May 18, 2013 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The newest member of the White Sox organization was not on the Reds’ 40-man roster and had 34 games of MLB experience in his time with the Reds, playing 21 games this past season and 13 games the previous season.
Soto has a career MLB batting average of .071 with three hits (one double) and one RBI. Most of his pro career has been played in the minors, where Soto played in 75 games with the Triple-A Louisville Bats.
In his time with the Bats last year, Soto batted .302 with a .350 on-base percentage and .406 slugging percentage, so there is something there to work with when he arrives to the minor league camps of most likely the Charlotte Knights.
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This spring Soto had a .286 batting average with two hits in seven at-bats (four games).
This is a very low-risk trade for the White Sox, but it could eventually pay off for them in some way. If nothing else, they now have some depth at the minor league level for their Triple-A team.
For his eight seasons in the minors, Soto has compiled a slash line of .274/.322/.447, with 439 RBIs and 841 hits (107 home runs).
Just from reading about Soto, it seems like he does have some talent, but has never put everything together after being a third-round selection.
The White Sox didn’t gain the next big star of baseball in this trade, but like mentioned earlier, Soto gives the White Sox some depth in the minors with a player who seems like he’s a solid pro at the levels lower than the majors.
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