2023 Marlins Season Preview: George Soriano

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RHP George Soriano

• Signed minor league deal with the Marlins on August 19, 2015
• Added to 40-man roster on November 15, 2022

2022 Recap

One of the longest-tenured players in the Marlins organization, Soriano finally reached the upper minors last season. He also transitioned from starting to a bullpen role. After 29 innings pitched for Double-A Pensacola, he made the permanent move to Triple-A Jacksonville in early June and spent the remainder of the season there.

In his 32 Jacksonville appearances (all of them in relief), Soriano posted a 2.49 ERA and 3.76 FIP, but a 5.04 xFIP. Despite being a fly-ball pitcher, Soriano allowed only two home runs at Triple-A (47.0 IP). Opponents had an unlucky .259 batting average on balls in play. Combine that with the fact his strikeout rate was only slightly better than league average (25.7 K%), then you begin to wonder whether he can continue getting outs this efficiently moving forward.

What the overall numbers don’t tell you is Soriano stepped up his game in key situations. He didn’t give up any Triple-A extra-base hits with runners in scoring position, for example.

Soriano’s four-seam fastball velocity has topped out at 99 mph. His slider sits in the mid-80s.

Soriano gained valuable experience finishing games for the Jumbo Shrimp. He earned eight saves in 2022 and most of them required him to pitch more than one inning.

Soriano would have been eligible to elect minor league free agency this past offseason, but Miami saw something in him that could help them at the big league level. He was selected to the 40-man roster in November along with fellow relievers Sean Reynolds, Eli Villalobos, and Josh Simpson.

2023 Marlins Role

The Marlins brought back most of their MLB relievers from their 2022 team while adding A.J. Puk and JT Chargois and trading Richard Bleier for Matt Barnes. That means George Soriano is very unlikely to be a candidate for the Opening Day roster.

However, he made his Grapefruit League debut on Tuesday and impressed. Soriano averaged 95 mph on his fastball and struck out left-handed batter Wilyer Abreu with his slider.

The upcoming World Baseball Classic will take several pitchers out of Marlins camp for a portion of Spring Training, giving Soriano more opportunities to prove himself.

I believe Soriano will be a part of the big league roster at some point in 2023. Especially if the Marlins are no longer in contention and trade some of their veteran pieces, that would pave the way for him to have a steady role later in the season and maybe even close some games.