A Decade Later, Elliot Soto Snags First Call-Up 

After 11 seasons and 867 career minor league games, infielder Elliot Soto is finally getting his taste of the big leagues. Yesterday, the 31-year-old was selected by the Angels from the club’s alternate site to replace Andrelton Simmons, who opted out of the remainder of the season.

Soto, an Elgin, Illinois native, was selected by the Cubs in the 15th round of the 2010 draft out of Creighton University. He remained with the organization until 2015 before returning for a second stint in 2017. In between, Soto spent time with Miami's Double and Triple-A teams.

The shortstop logged 29 games for Iowa in 2014 and spent the entirety of the 2017 campaign in Des Moines. Overall, he went 84-for-352 (.238) with 19 doubles and 41 RBI as an I-Cub.

Soto went on to spend two seasons with the Albuquerque Isotopes — Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate — before inking a minor league deal with the Angels in December of 2019.

At 29 years old, Soto’s 2019 campaign with the Isotopes was his best to date as he slashed .305/.380/.480 while setting career highs in doubles (22), triples (10), home runs (10) and RBI (50) in 112 games. His 10 home runs more than doubled his career total of seven long balls through his previous nine seasons.

The Angels are 3.5 games back in the AL Wild Card race with four games remaining in their schedule — one against San Diego tonight and a three-game set with the Dodgers this weekend. Soto has yet to make his debut.