Soria Moves from Motown to Pittsburgh
Twelve months after being acquired from Texas – and not saving a beleaguered bullpen – Joakim Soria has departed Detroit. The Tigers have traded the 31-year-old right-hander to the Pirates for 23-year-old shortstop prospect JaCoby Jones.
Soria did a decent job in Motown, but with his team’s playoff chances waning, the free-agent-to-be was destined to be dealt. Pittsburgh is a good fit. Soria isn’t sexy, but he’ll add valuable relief depth to a team capable of winning it all.
What can Pirates fans expect to see from their new acquisition?
“He throws 91-92, and predominantly four-seam fastballs,” explained Tigers catcher Alex Avila. “Normally, a guy who throws 90-92 mixes in more off-speed pitches, but he’s got a sneaky fastball. When I faced him as a hitter, I’d pop out or ground out, and be, ‘Man, I feel like I should hit this guy.’ For some reason, it’s hard to square him up. Catching him, I see the same thing.”
Soria is aware that he’s sneaky fast, but he doesn’t know why. It might be his spin rate, but all he’s concerned with is getting outs. “It is what it is,” said Soria. “It’s God-given and not something you can work on. I’ve been pitching for eight years, and whatever is working, is working.”
Whatever the exact process, the product is impressive. Despite having recorded an average fastball velocity of just 91.3 mph over the course of his career, Soria has prevented more than a run per every 100 fastballs thrown, producing the eight-best figure by that measure among 400 qualified pitchers since 2007.
Soria was only so-so after joining the Tigers shortly before last year’s trade deadline, and he was subsequently terrible in the ALCS. This year he was better — 23 saves and a 2.85 ERA in 43 games – but that wasn’t enough to help push an underachieving team into serious playoff contention. Now he’s a joining a team with one of the best records in baseball, and he promises to make them better.
JaCoby Jones has good tools, but lacks polish. Two years ago, shortly after he was drafted in the third round out of LSU, I referred to him as “boom-or-bust.” The jury remains out, which essentially makes Jones a lottery ticket. Given their doldrums, the Tigers need one of those more than they need Joakim Soria.
David Laurila grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now writes about baseball from his home in Cambridge, Mass. He authored the Prospectus Q&A series at Baseball Prospectus from December 2006-May 2011 before being claimed off waivers by FanGraphs. He can be followed on Twitter @DavidLaurilaQA.
As a 23 year old in high A ball, Jones was striking out over 26% of the time, which is also what he did as a 22 year old in A ball last year. He swings very hard at almost everything. When he hits the ball, he hits it hard, and he runs fast, so he has some tools.
Calling him a “shortstop” is accurate in the sense that he stands in the area where shortstops stand. If you put JaCoby on a rocket, you could say he was an “astronaut” as well. In reality, Jines in an outfielder who currently plays short in the low minors.
Nothing against Jones. I hope he does well. But the Bucs have a lot of superior OF options, and Jones was never going to play SS at PNC.
You’re wrong about his SS play. Detroit is getting a guy that can stick at the position. His Ks, however, are a concern.