MLB
Jorge Soler to Miami on 3 year deal
The wholesale asset stripping of the Braves for parts continues as their late-season acquisition and World Series MVP has been dealt to Miami
Just months after winning the World Series, based in no small part on clutch power hitting, the Atlanta Braves are busy asset-stripping their lineup. Balking at Freddie Freeman’s one extra year request got rid of the fan favorite, and now the price tag has proven to be the sticking point for the World Series MVP.
Jorge Soler, it appears, is now a Marlin. The outfielder and the Miami organization have agreed a three-year, $36 million contract, with opt-out clauses after each of the first two seasons. He will now lend his bat to a Marlins lineup that includes recent acquisition Avisail Garcia, giving their outfield much more pop.
Soler has had an inconsistent run in the major leagues, with his pre-trade season in 2021 standing at a lowly .192 and only 13 home runs for the Royals. The back half of the season, though was a different beast altogether. Once the Braves picked him up, he went .269 for 14 home runs, and then had a career-making run in the World Series, batting .300 with for 3 home runs over the series.
There was plenty of interest in Soler on the open market this winter, and the Braves were keen to keep him. But putting a dollar sign on the ebbs and flows of such an inconsistent player is not so easy, and when Soler asked for a deal that would protect him in the ebb, the Braves just could not reach far enough into their pockets to make it work.
With the two opt-outs in his clause, Soler gets the protection he needs but also can return to test the free agency waters in the instance that he keeps his production up.