Dodgers sign Elliot Soto to minor league deal, per report

The Dodgers have reportedly added another player to their list of non-roster invitees to spring training, with the signing of infielder Elliot Soto to a minor league contract, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group.

Soto made his major league debut last season with the Angels, playing the final three games of the regular season, including two starts at shortstop. Soto, a right-handed hitter, was 2-for-6 with a double, a walk, and two runs scored in the weekend series, which was at Dodger Stadium.

At 31, after 10 years in the minors, Soto was the fifth-oldest Angel to make his major league debut.

Soto was originally drafted and signed by the Cubs in the 15th round in 2010 out of Creighton, where he was teammates with future Dodgers Pat Venditte and Darin Ruf. Soto has played parts of five seasons in Triple-A with the Cubs, Marlins, and Rockies before joining the Angels in 2020. He’s played mostly shortstop, starting 625 minor league games at the position, but has also started 92 games at second base and 41 games at third base.

Alex Freedman, play-by-play announcer for Triple-A Oklahoma City, vouched for Soto’s defense.

Soto joins a group of non-roster invitees signed to minor league deals in the past week or so, along with Brandon Morrow, Jimmy Nelson, Brock Stewart, James Pazos, Carlos Asuaje, and Tim Federowicz.

Links & news

• ESPN unveiled its ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ schedule for 13 weeks of the 2021 season, mostly before the All-Star break. The Dodgers are featured once on the exclusive broadcast, on April 25 against the Padres at Dodger Stadium, a 4 p.m. PT start. ESPN has the full list.
• Will Smith and his fiancée Cara got married on Friday. It’s been an engaging offseason for the Dodgers, with Corey Seager getting married on December 5 and Brusdar Graterol and Dustin May getting engaged.
• Brian Parker, an international scouting crosschecker with the Dodgers for the last four years, is reportedly joining general manager Perry Minasian in the Angels front office, per Jim Callis of MLB.com. Parker has worked for over 20 years in baseball front offices, including seven years with the Blue Jays (2010-16) where he worked with Minasian.
• Remember the 2020 World Series documentary? Bill Shaikin at the Los Angeles Times talked with Aaron Cohen about writing the script for the film and working with Vin Scully, who narrated.