Despite entering the year with championship expectations and optimism around a promising young core, the Baltimore Orioles have found themselves at the bottom of the American League East.
General manager Mike Elias, for all of the sins of the past offseason, is not delusional. Baltimore is not pretending it has playoff hope left in the tank. The Orioles will sell, and on Friday, they furthered that notion by trading left-handed reliever Gregory Soto to the New York Mets.
In return, Baltimore received right-handed pitchers Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster. Neither is considered a top prospect in the Mets' system, but that doesn't mean that the Orioles didn't find good value for Soto's services.
Get to know Baltimore's newest prospects
Aracena is the headliner of this deal, sporting a rather explosive arsenal that profiles as a potential high-leverage reliever.
His velocity stands out, topping out at 101 mph, and he sports a healthy arsenal behind his upper-90s fastball. Aracena's cutter offers him a bridge between his fastball and breaking ball, and while his slider's shape is inconsistent, it's been able to generate swings and misses in Low-A.
In 2025, he's been dominant, pitching to a 2.38 ERA and 11.75 K/9.
At 20 years old, there's room for Aracena to grow into a starter. With multiple fastball shapes, a slider, and a work-in-progress changeup, his arsenal might have enough depth to pull it off. However, command woes and the electricity of his high-velo stuff makes him a candidate for late-inning relief.
That kind of upside is an exciting get for a quality middle reliever like Soto.
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Foster, meanwhile, is the type of reliever Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has made a living of churning through. He's 26 and not going to be found on any top prospect lists, but he looks the part of a quad-A arm who is earning his way to the bigs. Foster was incredible at Double-A this season, posting a 1.01 ERA with similar peripherals.
Subsequently, he was promoted to Triple-A and could reasonably see Major League time this season. His slider stands out, helping him find 34 strikeouts in 26.2 innings before his promotion.
In 2023, he was used as a starter before converting to relief, opening the door for him to take on multi-inning roles if necessary. For now, he projects as an up-and-down reliever who could exceed expectations if Baltimore's pitching development can build around his feel for spin.
Ultimately, the Orioles did well for themselves, adding two arms with a path to big-league innings and acquiring some upside for a reliever well on his way to free agency. Expect the fire sale to continue in Baltimore.
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