After designating Jose Soriano for assignment last week, the Pittsburgh Pirates have returned the right-handed pitcher who was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft to the Los Angeles Angels.
Soriano, 23, was coming off Tommy John surgery when picked by the Pirates and required UCL revision surgery in June. After Soriano cleared waivers, the Pirates had to offer Soriano back to the Angels for $50,000, per Rule 5 Draft requirements.
Prior to the surgery, Soriano had a fastball that sat at 96 mph and touched triple digits and an above-average curveball. He was ranked the Pirates’ No. 10 prospect by Baseball America and No. 12 by MLB Pipeline.
After spending the 2021 season on the injured list, Soriano is now slated to miss the 2022 season. That would have required the Pirates to keep him on their 40-man roster until 2023. Instead, the Pirates designated Soriano for assignment on Nov. 7 to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for infielder Diego Castillo, who was acquired from the New York Yankees in the Clay Holmes trade in late July.
The Pirates also released seven minor league players: Right-handed pitchers Will Gardner, Argenys Dominguez, Ryan Troutman and Parker Brahms and catchers Arden Pabst, Kyle Wilkie and Osvaldo Gavilan.
Four were Pirates draft picks: Troutman was picked in the sixth round in 2019, Pabst in the 12th round in 2016, Wilkie in the 12th round in 2019 and Gardner in the 21st round in 2018.
