The Nationals and Cardinals have announced individual trades for eligible relievers. Louis finds out George Soriano when Washington took over Andre Granillo. Washington set the stage Trevor Williams on the list of 60 days injured in the corresponding movement. The Nationals designated Soriano for active duty last week when they said they had left Ken Waldichuk waivers, so they needed to open up a 40-man spot for Granillo.
Soriano will hopefully get confirmation after a busy season. This is the fourth time he has changed organizations since November. The 26-year-old had spent his entire career with the Marlins until they released him early in the offseason. He landed in Baltimore, Atlanta and Washington with successive claims of waivers and positions.
A three-season veteran, Soriano has an earned run average of less than 6.00 over 118 major league innings. He has a league-high 22% strikeout rate compared to a league-average 10.3% walk percentage. The biggest problem was that he was a regular homer, giving up 1.75 long balls per nine innings. Soriano works at 95-96 mph with his sinker and four-seam fastball while using a slider and changeup frequently. He’s out of the minor leagues and needs to be cleared in camp or sent back to DFA limbo.
It bodes well for Soriano’s chances of sticking on the St. Louis roster. Louis split it with the MLB free agent to bypass the waiver order. Granillo, 25, is a 14th-round draft pick who was drafted last June. He has been up and down from Triple-A Memphis all season. Granillo pitched in 14 MLB games, posting a 4.71 ERA through his first 21 innings. He has posted a high strikeout and walk rate throughout his minor league career but has had way more contact in his limited league career.
Granillo leans heavily on his slider while sitting 94-95 with a fastball. He occasionally mixes in a changeup but usually releases two vocals. He is coming off an excellent season at Triple-A Memphis, where he posted a 1.29 ERA with a 36% strikeout rate and a low 8.7% walk percentage in 42 innings. He still has some minor league options left.
It’s surprising that the Cardinals parted ways with Granillo for a pitcher who was retired three times in the offseason. They are clearly not strong in Granillo’s chances of translating his Triple-A production into success at the highest level. It’s also worth noting that they never had a chance to catch Soriano off waivers. The value of the offseason is in reverse order of the previous season’s record, and the St. Louis had a higher winning percentage than each of Baltimore, Atlanta, or Washington. The Cardinals and Nats each have multiple opportunities in the bullpen.
William IL’s move is routine. He had internal brace surgery to repair the UCL in his elbow last July. That’s a year-long recovery process. He will aim to return sometime after the All-Star break.
Derrick Goold of St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the trade shortly before the announcements.
