CLEVELAND — Gregory Soto didn’t feel overwhelmed like many of the ballplayers who learn they’ve been traded.

He asked for this. He wanted a new environment, one in which he could put his time in Philadelphia behind him. He had a 4.26 ERA in 2023 and a 4.08 ERA this year when he was exchanged for pitching prospects Seth Johnson and Moisés Chace just minutes before Tuesday’s deadline.

“I was focusing on doing a good job over there whenever my name was called, but, with that being said, we had conversations, my agent and I, with the team,” Soto said through translator Brandon Quinones. “If the opportunity came up to go somewhere else, that was something we were willing to do. Things just happened to work out that way, where it happened now and I’m happy to be here.”

Soto was a closer in Detroit, but Philadelphia didn’t have defined roles in its bullpen. According to The Athletic, Soto was unhappy with how he was used in Philadelphia, where he rarely pitched in save situations.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

On April 17, after he recorded just one out and allowed five runs, Soto was told there would be no more complaining about when he was pitching. The Phillies gave him another chance in July prior to the All-Star break, letting him pitch in the ninth and eighth innings on back-to-back nights in Minnesota, but he recorded only one out each time.

“I think a lot of times he envisions himself as a closer, which is fine,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters Tuesday. “He’s done fine for us by all means. We weren’t dissatisfied with him. But the way we use our ’pen, I’m just not sure there ever was a way that he felt comfortable in that regard.”

He won’t be a closer in Baltimore either, at least not right now. General manager Mike Elias said Wednesday that Craig Kimbrel has that spot. Soto is more of a replacement for Danny Coulombe, who has been out since June after having bone fragments removed from his elbow. He is expected back in September, but an exact timeline isn’t known.

Soto said the Orioles told him his job is to help the team any way he can but they have not discussed a specific role yet.

“Our plan and our hope is to have Coulombe back prior to the end of the regular season, and I’m hopeful he’s in form for the playoff roster,” Elias said, “but I think the Soto addition helps ensure us against some outcomes where — hopefully that doesn’t happen — but some outcomes where he misses that time frame.”

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Soto could find himself in high-leverage situations against left-handed batters, because the Orioles like to take advantage of left-on-left matchups, but Kimbrel’s splits are even against both. Soto’s held left-handed hitters to a .204 batting average this year, and he has a high-90s fastball in his arsenal.

“I think my mentality is to attack them,” Soto said. “That’s the handedness that I have the most success with, so I just go out there with a lot of aggression, looking to attack them and let them get themselves out.”