Neftalí O. Soto (born February 28, 1989) is a Puerto Rican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He has previously played in

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(MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and in NPB for the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

. He led the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

with 41 home runs in the 2018 season, and with 43 in the 2019 season.

Early life

Soto was born in

Manatí, Puerto Rico Manatí () is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico on the northern coast, north of Morovis and Ciales; east of Florida and Barceloneta; and west of Vega Baja. Manatí is spread over 8 barrios and Manatí barrio-pueblo (the downtown area an ...

and attended Colegio Marista High School.

Professional career

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds drafted Soto with a supplemental third-round pick in the

2007 Major League Baseball Draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fir ...

. He played the rest of the 2007 season with the

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rookie-class team, hitting .303 with two homers and 28 RBI. Soto started 2008 with the rookie-class

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehler ...

, where he hit .388 in 67 at-bats, belting four homers with 11 RBI. His performance earned him a promotion to low-A

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

. In 218 at-bats for the Dragons, he hit .326 with seven homers and 36 RBI. Soto was promoted again for 2009, this time to the advanced-A

Sarasota Reds The Sarasota Reds were a professional minor league baseball team, located in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the Florida State League. However team originally started play in Sarasota as the Sarasota White Sox in 1989. They remained in the city ...

. He played a full season at Sarasota, getting 505 at-bats and hitting .248 with 11 homers and 57 RBI. The Reds advanced-A team moved to Lynchburg for 2010, where Soto played for the 2010 season. In 522 at-bats he hit .268 with 21 homers and 73 RBI. In 2011, Soto played for the double-A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. ...

. He played in 102 games (379 at-bats), hitting .272 with an impressive 30 homers and 76 RBI. After the double-A season, he played in four games for triple-A

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, going 7-for-17 with another home run and four more RBI. His season slugging percentage was .576. Soto was named Southern League player of the week twice during the season for Carolina. Entering his fifth year of eligibility (which would make him eligible for the Rule 5 Draft), the Reds placed him on the

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following the 2011 season. Soto was called up to the Major Leagues for the first time on May 18, 2013. In 13 games with the Reds, he batted 0-for-12. In 2014, he began the season on the Reds' big-league roster, and tallied his first career RBI on April 7 against the

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with a sacrifice fly off Trevor Rosenthal to drive in

Ryan Ludwick Ryan Andrew Ludwick (born July 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, and ...

. On April 14 he got his first big-league hit, a fifth-inning double off the Pittsburgh Pirates' Wandy Rodriguez. Soto was outrighted off the Reds roster on October 28, 2014.

Chicago White Sox

On March 23, 2015, Soto was traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

for cash considerations. He spent the year with the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

and elected free agency after the season.

Washington Nationals

On February 8, 2016, Soto signed a minor league deal with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. After splitting time between the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

and the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

in 2016 and putting up a combined .274/.318/.408

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

with 10 home runs, Soto was invited to major league spring training as a non-roster player in

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. Soto was not selected to the Nationals roster, but he went on to have a much stronger season with Harrisburg and then Syracuse, with a .311/.364/.528 slash line and 24 home runs across both levels. On November 6, 2017, he elected free agency.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

On November 10, 2017, Soto signed with the

(NPB). In 2018 season, Soto finished the 2018 season with a .310 batting average, 41 home runs, 95 RBI, a .364 on-base percentage, a .644 slugging percentage, and 1.008 on-base plus slugging. He led the Central League with 41 home runs. On November 18, 2019, Soto signed a 1-year extension to remain with the BayStars. On September 19, 2020, Soto hit his 100th home run in Japan in a 7–1 win. He is the 81st imported player to reach the 100-home run milestone in Japan. On May 17, 2023, Soto hit his 150th home run in NPB, placing him 4th all-time in BayStars history for foreign players. In 109 games for Yokohama he batted .235/.316/.415 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI. On November 30, Soto elected free agency.

Chiba Lotte Marines

On December 13, 2023, Soto signed with the

References

External links

Neftali Soto Stats, Bio on MiLB.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soto, Neftali 1989 births Living people Billings Mustangs players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Carolina Mudcats players Charlotte Knights players Chiba Lotte Marines players Cincinnati Reds players Criollos de Caguas players Dayton Dragons players Gulf Coast Reds players Harrisburg Senators players Leones de Ponce baseball players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Louisville Bats players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Nippon Professional Baseball infielders People from Manatí, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Japan Sarasota Reds players Syracuse Chiefs players Yokohama DeNA BayStars players 2023 World Baseball Classic players