The New York Mets found some of the best bullpen help and depth that wouldn't cost them an arm and a leg before the MLB Trade Deadline, agreeing to a deal with the Baltimore Orioles for veteran left-hander Gregory Soto, who broke through with the rival Phillies. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Mets are sending No. 19 prospect RHP Wellington Aracena as well as RHP Cameron Foster (not in the MLB Pipeline Top 30 for New York) to the Orioles in the deal.
This trade comes after one of the Mets' top priorities at the trade deadline has been acquiring bullpen depth. While the current group of relievers in New York has been solid, Edwin Diaz and company have needed more high-leverage arms around them. While the Orioles are selling on expiring pieces in a lost season, the Mets took advantage at a cheap price to get a proven veteran.
But how did each team come out? Let's grade the trade.
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MLB Trade Grades: Mets land Gregory Soto from Orioles for two prospects
Mets Trade Grade: A-
Inserting Soto into the Mets bullpen could be a massive difference-maker for New York. Diaz has obviously been a shutdown option in the closer role, but one could argue that others like Huascar Brazoban or Jose Butto might not inspire season-long confidence, despite their overall quality showings.
Soto might not look like the ideal option, especially with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.294 WHIP on the season with Baltimore. However, he's been quite unlucky for the most part this season, best indicated by a 3.29 FIP. Furthermore, we've seen elite upside from Soto at times, most notably when he posted a 3.28 and was an All-Star in the 2022 season with the Tigers.
What stands out the most with this trade and why it's great for the Mets, though, is the little that they gave up. They matched what the Orioles are clearly looking for in controllable pitching, but didn't have to give up any sort of elite prospect to get this deal done. Not only does that keep the farm system in a good spot overall, it keeps the ammunition chamber loaded so that David Stearns can potentially work out a bigger deal before the deadline to address New York's biggest need, starting pitching.
Orioles Trade Grade: B
I'm all-in on the Orioles selling expiring pieces from their roster with how this season is gone, so getting something in return for Soto, who hasn't been all that impressive on the surface this season, makes a lot of sense. Furthermore, Baltimore flipped a reliever they don't have much use for in exchange for young pitching, which their lack of in the system has been a huge reason for why the club has bottomed out in the 2025 season.
Aracena is the star of the deal, but he's still quite a ways away from seeing the big leagues. The 20-year-old is currently only in Low-A for the Mets. He's pitched extremely well, posting a 2.38 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 17 appearances and eight starts in St. Lucie this season. There's a ton of upside there and hope for the Orioles future rotation with him, but the right-hander certainly won't be part of an immediate bounce-back in Baltimore in 2026.
Cameron Foster, however, is why this trade doesn't get a higher grade for the O's. The 26-year-old righty dominated Double-A in 19 appearances this season with a 1.01 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. That earned a promotion to Triple-A, but that was highly unkind to him, allowing seven earned runs in 3.2 innings before being demoted back to Double-A Binghamton. At his age and with that track record, the hope is that the Orioles see something they can fix and utilize, but this is a flier of the highest order.
Put simply, Orioles fans have to hope that Baltimore can swing something bigger moving forward, even if this is still a good deal. They need a great one soon to be able to start climbing out of their current doldrums.