Jose Soriano, who came to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Rule 5 draft in 2020, was sent back to the Los Angeles Angels yesterday, per Jack Harris of the L.A. Times. Soriano, who at one point was considered a top pitching prospect with a phenomenal fastball poised for a lot of Ks, underwent his second Tommy John surgery in as many seasons earlier this year, which doesn’t bode well for his future.
Pitcher Jose Soriano has been returned to the #Angels
— Jack Harris (@Jack_A_Harris) November 14, 2021
The right-hander was picked in Rule 5 draft last year by Pirates, but had his second TJ surgery in June and was DFA’d last week
He is not on the #Angels 40-man
The 23-year-old has only pitched three innings since 2019, and who knows what his future may hold now.
The Rule 5 draft allows clubs without a filled out 40-man roster to select non-40-man guys from other clubs at the cost of $50,000. If the player does not remain on his new team’s roster (and Soriano was DFA’d last week), then he returns to his former team at the cost of $25,000 for the old team. So the Soriano pick ended up costing Pittsburgh $25,000. It was worth the initial gamble for a potential big arm, which the Pirates lack, but that second surgery was a killer.
Soriano’s 40-man roster spot in Pittsburgh was taken up by Diego Castillo, who came to the Bucs from the New York Yankees as part of the Clay Holmes deal. This move was made last week when Soriano was DFA’d.
Castillo played with three Minor League teams this past season — Somerset for the Yanks and Indianapolis and Altoona for the Buccos, and he hit .278 with 19 homers and 55 RBIs over 388 at-bats (440 plate appearances), which was his best hitting performance so far.
The 24-year-old utility infielder was slated for Minor League free agency had he not been added to the roster, and the Bucs like his potential and wanted to hold on to him.