Who is Livan Soto, the newest member of the Orioles?

On Thursday, just a day after acquiring infielder Nick Maton from the Detroit Tigers to bring their 40-man roster to 39, the Orioles made it an even 40 by claiming infielder Livan Soto off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels.

Soto was ranked as the 16th overall prospect in the Angels system according to MLB Pipeline before the move. He was DFA'd by the team after they signed relief pitcher José Cisnero. Soto has two years of minor league options remaining, so the Orioles can further develop him in the minors without having to risk waivers, even though the Angels did.

With another new addition coming to Baltimore, let's learn a little more about Livan Soto

Soto is an infielder who will turn 24 in the middle of the season. He's primarily a shortstop but can also handle second base and third base, and he's played all three positions in the majors before, albeit small sample sizes for all of them. He's an athletic infielder who has good speed, which is only a good thing when you're fielding.

As for his major league experience, there isn't a lot of it. He's played in just 22 games, 18 of which were in 2022. He has 24 hits and five walks in 71 plate appearances, so he's done a good job of getting on base, another trait that Mike Elias and the Orioles love.

While Soto didn't have enough games to get accurate advanced statistic readings, a look at his baseball savant page has a lot of faded red, so if he had enough games under his belt, he would have some favorable advanced numbers. In particular, he would have done well with strikeout and walk percentage, another thing the Orioles like in their hitters.

Soto is 23 going on 24 and has two years of minor league options left, so he likely won't spend a ton of time up in Baltimore unless something drastic happens. This kind of player can pay dividends for a team like the Orioles if they develop him properly, so Soto will definitely be worth keeping an eye on.