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Braves may look to move on from former home run king image
Oct 2, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Jorge Soler (2) hits a solo home run during the fifth inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
The Atlanta Braves organization can feel the sand shifting beneath its feet.
Atlanta failed to mount its usual contention for a National League East division title. The Braves also flunked out of the postseason after failing to muster up much of a challenge as a first-round casualty in the NL playoffs.
It was a season that didn’t come anywhere close to meeting lofty expectations, and now the organization looks to do some reshuffling this offseason.
One of the players who might find his second stay in Atlanta as short as his first visit in 2021 is outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler.
Much like in 2021, the Braves picked up Soler to fortify the offense during the late-season stretch drive. However, the Cuban masher didn’t quite meet up to his statistics this time around, hitting nine homers with 24 RBI and a .243 batting average in 49 games — down from his 14/33/.269 over 55 games in 2021 before going on to earn the World Series Most Valuable Player as the Braves won the Major League Baseball championship.
After Soler’s first go-around with Atlanta, he departed for the Miami Marlins as a free agent. After one of his finest seasons in the majors in 2022, he signed with the San Francisco Giants on a three-year, $42 million deal. The Giants then traded Soler to the Braves on July 29 of this season for two prospects.
The 32-year-old has been something of a nomad, having played for five teams in an 11-year career. Zach Presnell of Fansided suggests that Soler’s nomadic ways could continue, with Atlanta poised to trade the slugger this winter.
Presnell connects the Braves to the Detroit Tigers, a team that could use a big bat to add to its upstart lineup that made a shocking run to the American League Divisional Series this autumn.
Soler’s defensive metrics are nothing to write home about, and Atlanta already has a resurgent Marcell Ozuna serving as the team’s full-time DH — making Soler expendable for a team looking to beef up its offense while lacking a set-in-stone DH.
The Tigers used a bevy of players in the DH slot this season before settling on Justyn-Henry Malloy and Kerry Carpenter in the playoffs. Both players are capable outfielders, allowing Soler to swoop in and take over the full-time DH role.
For Atlanta, moving on from Soler and the balance of his contract over the next two seasons would allow the team to address other areas of need either via trade or the free-agent market.
