The Braves and Padres are “in talks” with free agent outfielder Jorge Soler, reports David O’Brien of The Athletic. These teams join the Rockies and Marlins as clubs who have had reported interest in Soler the past few days.
Atlanta doesn’t have a glaring need in its outfield after re-signing postseason hero and left fielder Eddie Rosario to a two-year contract yesterday. The birth of the universal DH however gives the team some wiggle room to reunite with another face from last year’s miraculous World Series run. Currently, non-roster invitee Alex Dickerson projects to be the team’s starting DH (per Jason Martinez of RosterResource), which shouldn’t prove too much of a roadblock for an earnest pursuit of Soler.
Complicating matters though may be the presence of recovering slugger Ronald Acuña Jr.. Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulus told Jim Bowden of The Athletic today that the plan was for Acuña to work primarily as the team’s DH until garnering some outfield reps in late May. Given that the Braves outfield is currently full with Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, and Marcell Ozuna, an Acuña-occupied DH spot may prevent talks with Soler from getting too far.
The Padres on the other hand have plenty of room for Soler on their roster. While their primary vacancy in the outfield is in left field, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to slide incumbent right fielder Wil Myers over to left and allow Soler to play in right field. More likely, however, is a plan in which Soler is plugged into the team’s DH position. In that event, non-roster invitee Nomar Mazara or the versatile Jurickson Profar could be in line for work in left field, barring further additions.
After failed pursuits of Freddie Freeman, Nelson Cruz, Seiya Suzuki, and the recent injury to Fernando Tatis Jr. the Padres are running out of ways to improve upon last year’s middling offense. With a luxury tax number near $219MM (per Roster Resource), San Diego may be hesitant to fork over a contract necessary to sign Soler however. Crossing the new luxury tax threshold of $230MM would incur additional penalties for a Padres team that crossed the threshold last season. MLB Trade Rumors pegged Soler for a three-year $36MM deal at the start of the offseason, a contract that would nudge the Padres right into penalty territory.
Turning to Soler, the right-handed hitter posted a middling .223/.316/.432 (97 OPS+) in 149 games between the Royals and Braves last season. Of course, the 30-year-old’s season turned around following his midseason trade to Atlanta, reminding many of his 48-homer campaign in 2019. In 242 plate appearances as a Brave, Soler posted a much sturdier .269/.358/.524 (128 OPS+), cranking that production up to .242/.342/.606 in 11 postseason games.
Soler’s superlatives largely begin and end with his bat, as his right field work continued to draw poor marks last season. Despite that, the dawn of league-wide designated hitting figures to land the reigning World Series MVP a solid contract from one of his suitors in the coming weeks.
Yes, please.
I’m waiting to see what Freeman says regarding his decision. Wouldn’t surprise me one bit if his annoying wife had anything to do with it.
Wow. Turning on the player’s wife now? The dude just helped you win a WS. Leave his wife alone. It’s quite possible he wanted to go to LA all along.
I don’t know anything about Freeman’s wife. But in 1988, the Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup. That offseason, Wayne Gretzky was traded to LA largely at the behest of his wife who had Hollywood aspirations. It happens.
Vonpurplehayes: If Freddie wanted to go to LA the entire time he wouldn’t have dragged his feet for as long as he did. He got his all so important 6th year from LA that ATL wouldn’t give. He signed for the same rate as the Braves 5 yr offer ($27,000,000.00). That’s $135,000,000.00 compared to $162,000,000.00 As much as I was hoping that Freddie would follow Chipper’s lead of being a Braves lifer I’m glad that they got the best replacement for him. Olson’s contract is 8 yrs @ $21,000,000.00 per year. That’s $168,000,000.00 total. The Braves made the right decision for the TEAM. I wish Freddie continued (individual) success but hope his new team falls on its face.
Or maybe the total lack of respect that the Braves showed for the last year and a half.
Bill Kane, I wish someone would disrespect me to the tune of 5 yrs, 140 million dollars. FYI, that offer has a higher AAV than the Dodgers offer. Also, Freddie is the one who wouldn’t talk contract during the season. So much for that thought.
What’s to say? LA offered more years/money. Pretty simple.
Watch your mouth. Chelsea is an angel
It must suck to go through life missing chromosomes.
I don’t know if that’s true, but that’s what I want to believe…so thanks
Or maybe the Braves didn’t meet Freeman’s price. There has been nothing I have seen that is deserving of the hate towards Mrs. Freeman by Braves fans.
That’s a trash take. Wouldn’t expect anything better from you, Mr “NoBumgarnerNoNLCS” guy
Interesting that this was the same guy who, a few months ago, wanted Freeman to sign elsewhere because he didn’t think he would get a WS ring with ATL.
What are you complaining about? The Braves got a younger version of Freeman, with more power, that costs less.
The curse of freeman!
@TrumpChop- Wow. I mean you’re kind of a pile of garbage, aren’t you?
Wonder what your wife thinks of her annoying husband.
There was a report that she is seeking to start a clothing line and that LA would be advantageous. But most likely that is seeing the positive side of the team change rather than a driving force behind it. There were also reports of her family moving in Florida and being in Atlanta puts her closer to them. At the end of the day, he got the package her wanted. Though considering CA taxes, not sure he is making out much better than the last Atlanta offer.
As a Braves fan, can people stop throwing shade at Freddie’s wife. Freddie wanted the 6th year, the Dodgers gave it. It’s really not hard to understand. Depending on where you sit, you can blame the Braves, or you can blame Freddie. Personally, I blame the Braves, but whatever. Freddie’s wife isn’t the one at fault here, though.
Dodgers will jump in and sign him…….. just because they can.
Not sure i want to see him in an SD uniform
Dodgers fans would probably buy a Braves Soler jersey just because of what he did to the Astros.
Not sure what the Marlins pull off in the end. They’re in on Castellanos, Soler, trying to trade for Bryan Reynolds, Cedric Mullins or Ramon Laureano. They already have Jesus Sanchez, Avisail Garcia and Bryan de la Cruz as part of their OF. They also have Aguilar, Cooper and Lewin Diaz to occupy 1B/DH. It seems they only have one spot left for the OF, since it seems they’ll be moving de la Cruz to being a 4th OF or platoon rotation.
Curious to see who get brought in.
Marlins need a CF not another Corner OF. Mullins or Hays make sense for them. Laureano too, though he will be sitting out much of the first month finishing his 80 game suspension for PED’s.
I agree. I’m not even sure why they are still talking to Soler or Castellanos. Their priority should be a legit Closer and a CF. Those are the two needs.
The Marlins won’t bring in any of the names you listed. Get a clue. Do you even watch baseball?
The Marlins have been reported to be interested on all these guys. They also have the farm system to trade with. Do YOU even watch baseball??
He doesn’t. He just vomits garbage constantly here
Thanks for letting my live in your head rent-free
Don’t you have a clan rally to get to, John Rocker?
I wonder if Freddy regrets the way things turned out. I wonder what his thoughts were when he found out the Braves traded for Matt Olsen. Maybe everything works out for him, but I plan on going to his first game back in Atlanta and I might be the only one that does, but I’m booing when he comes up to bat.
I think hes gonna be alright. 162 mil kinda has a way to make problems go away.
If it was reported penny pinching Tampa Bay offered him 6 years and Atlanta just wouldn’t budge off of 5 then boo you’re own management Atlanta doesn’t deserve him. Then to pull out the negotiating rug and trade for Olson, then give him $169m when the highest offer to Freddy was $140.
So bad. And they give up talent to acquire Olson they could have kept and had Freddy for 6/162m. Just utter mismanagement.
I diassgree, Olsen is 5 years younger than Freddy, We don’t know what was said in the negotiations. Prospects are what they are, prospects, but I sure hate we traded the catcher. Dodgers are going to regret years 5 and 6.
At least years 5 and 6. Don’t forget, Dodger Stadium is bigger, and has a lot more foul ground, than Truist.
I would hope Freddie realizes it’s a business just as much or more than it’s a game. Olson is 5 years younger and at this point is just reaching his prime. Freeman is going to paid a lot of money in his declining years and the Braves didn’t want to be the one’s paying. He won an MVP and a championship in Atlanta, neither side owes the other anything.
The Dodgers are going to be paying Mookie and Freddie a lot of money in to their late 30’s. Decisions still loom for Walker Buehler, Cody Bellinger, and Trea Turner. Last thing the Dodgers want is to end up like the Angels paying big money to players who’s better days are behind them
I hope every Dodger in the starting lineup has 100 rbi
Olson got more yrs at a lower AAV. Freddie turned down a higher AAV to go to LA. The Braves couldn’t wait for FF so they went out and did what they had to do to get an awesome player to replace a great player. They’re paying Olson, McHugh, and Rosario the same amount of money this yr as Freddie is making. Nothing is mismanaged except your thought process here.
Why boo Freddie? Alex wouldn’t give him the 6th year, and Freeman was nothing but classy throughout his time here. It’s not as if he dumped slop on the Braves logo in Truist when he announced he’s signing in LA.
I will applaud for Freddie. If he hits a HR in his first AB against Atlanta, I’ll still clap. There’s no reason to be sour toward the guy.
Come on Padres, give Aderlin Rodriguez a try at DH. Someone has to try him sometime.
Gotta get rid of Ozuna if they gonna sign Soler
Why?? Until Acuña Jr. comes back right now they’re positioned to have either Dickerson or Ozuna in LF/Duvall in CF/Rosario in RF, and then with whichever of Ozuna or Dickerson that doesn’t play LF at DH..
I would MUCH RATHER have Soler in LF, Duvall in CF, Rosario in RF, then have Ozuna as the DH, and then you’ll have Dickerson’s bat off the bench you can use as a weapon when the situation calls for it later in the game…
Then, once Acuña Jr. Is back you have him, Rosario, Duvall, Soler, and Ozuna all rotating in and out the outfield and DH spot keeping eachother fresh, and Snitker can put each of these players in the best position to succeed based off of matchups like he did last season..
Plus, I’d much rather have some quality depth than just Heredia and Dickerson in case someone gets injured…
I’m DEFINITELY all for the Braves signing Soler, if they can get him for a decent deal..2 years 25 mil just might be enticing enough for Soler to come back. They could also go 3 years 35mil with the 3rd year as a club option, but it also contains a 5 mil buyout…That way, essentially Soler would be looking at a deal with 2 years and at the least 30 million guaranteed…
Or they could go with Drew Waters as the CF until Acuna gets back.
Waters won’t make it befor Harris. Surprised Waters wasn’t included in a trade already.
If Waters starts hitting in triple-A, he’ll be up this season. Harris is in high-A.
No one will be the Braves primary DH…….
But Ozuna should get the most reps there.
They want that Soler power energy but are gonna end up getting a low watt batting average.
I wish, we could trade him to the Padres, but we will be stuck with a first baseman that can’t hit
Where does Rosario play? If Ozuna plays left Duval in center, do they platoon in right?
Rosario plays left, Soler in right, Duval in center, and Ozuna dh till Acuna comes back
Don’t know what they do when Acuna comes back. I don’t think we sign Soler, although I would rather have him than Ozuna
did you not read the article?? AA said acuna would DH
Wow, $219 million payroll and the Padres have a “middling offense’?
And how much per year sunk in 2 players the Rock Star GM is desperate to trade?
I’m currently attempting to locate the ghost of Professor Irwin Corey to explain to me what AJ Preller is doing.
Have already tried the San Diego Zoo; but when I asked the animals they all just turned their palms up, shrugged their shoulders, and gave a “Why Ask Me?” look.
Just leave the animals alone, Samuel!
Son you forgot to washes the dishes and take out the trash. You’re grounded!
Or you don’t get no spendin’ cash
Let’s run it back Jorge!
The article acts like duvall is a sure fire starter if the Braves go get soler. Realistically, it wouldn’t shock me to see Ozuna in the DH, Soler in left (which I think he is better at than the credit given), Acuna in CF (when he comes back) and platoon of Eddie and duvall in right. Or even Soler in right when Eddie plays. Soler is a better defender than he’s given credit to. After watching Ozuna out there, he looks like a rockstar. Additional, I wouldn’t bank on Ozuna coming back playing like he was. He will prob struggle and struggle bad after that year off. Braves just need to cut bait
We stuck with Ozuna, nobody wants him, maybe we could trade him to SD for Myers,
Ozuna was mashing in winter league actually. Having the DH around is perfect for him. You can rotate DH role to keep the outfielders fresh as well.
Duvall or Soler/Rosario platoon would also make sense. Soler/Duvall being RH & Rosario being LH.
Rosario would be the only LH outfielder actually.
@BraveLil’Toaster
The only thing is that Rosario hits as well against LH pitching as well as RHP according to splits & BA, so no real reason to drag him when a LHP is starting, unless to give him a rest for the sake of keeping him fresh.
Acuna is not in CF going forward. RF only.
AA said he talked to Acuna about it & he’s down for whatever. Who knows what’s going to happen.
If Acuna is in RF that makes things complicated if carrying Duvall, Soler, Rosario, & Ozuna.
Basically, Duvall is in CF every day if Acuna is in RF. Would mean a LF platoon of Rosario(LH)/Soler(RH). Ozuna being primary DH.
Not going to discuss Waters, Harris, or Heredia. All possible but not likely.
With the Sox missing out on Suzuki i wouldn’t mind seeing them make a run at Soler. As things stand losing Hunter Renfroe’s power and then missing out on Suzuki and Schwarber is a bad look on the offense that will have deploy JBJ regularly
Freddie will always be a Brave and WS champion!! He’s a class act and wanted to go home. I can respect his wishes. Truist Park will sell out when Freeman comes to town.. I hope the get rid of Ozuna bring back Soler!!
I don’t think he wanted to go to LA, I think he overplayed his hand and got lucky for a 6 year deal from LA, with lower aav than they originally offered.
Agreed
I see the Padres as a team highly motivated to go after Luke Voit. They’ve missed out on a lot of muscle, they need to make up some ground and they still have valuable assets in their farm system. I’m a Cleveland fan (how I hate saying Guardians) and I’d love to nab him but my team seems to have an anti-slugger bias. Won’t draft them, rarely sign them. Annoying.
This may be the only time in the history of Baseball past, present, and future that the words “highly motivated to go after Luke Voit” are ever uttered in the same sentence, ever…
About two hours later we find an article here on traderumors “Padres Interested in Luke Voit”. I’m not sure if you’re turned off by the terminology or Luke Voit but … who cares. The Padres do seem highly motivated to go after Luke Voit. There, did it again.
If the Padres are even thinking Mazara or Profar are the answer in LF, they are in a sad position. Billy Hamilton is still available if you have to go cheap.
Then they are in trouble, because this is the mess Preller has created and now finds himself stuck in. $27 million for 3 years of Profar when it was likely he wouldn’t have gotten half that on the open market? Crazy! This is Prellers bed and now we all have to lie in it.
Don’t understand why a team like the Pirates or Orioles won’t sign a guy like this to be DH and play in the outfield, even if they trade him at the deadline. Kris Bryant aside, it’s tiresome seeing the same few teams go after players and others just sit on the sidelines trotting out pitiful AAA rosters
Alex Dickerson would only be the DH until Acuna comes back. Then you would have an outfield of Acuna, Duvall and Rosario with Ozuna as the DH.
Sub Soler for Dickerson before Acuna coming back.
Then platoon Soler & Rosario in LF if they want to keep Acuna in RF when he comes back. Duvall in CF & Ozuna @ DH.
Sounds like a plan!
There was some rumour going that they’d sign Soler and trade Ozuna. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen. The Braves really need Soler’s bat, even though he is inconsistent, but his discipline and approach at the plate improved markedly under the instruction of Seitzer.
if the braves really needed solers bat, they would have signed him already. you obviously don’t follow the braves
AND FOR THE LAST TIME AA ALREADY SAID THAT ACUNA WILL BE DH.
THIS IS TO THE PEOPLE WHO DON’T READ THE ARTICLE AND JUST COMMENT B*******. THAT’S WHY IT’S IN CAPS.
@BravesFan59 Not sure who you’re talking to because you never know on this site.
Acuna might DH for a while to protect his injury and ease him back, long term he’s not going to be DH.
You assert that you ‘follow’ the Braves but you patently haven’t got a clue.
Signing Soler gives them options, that is if they do sign him. I didn’t say they’d sign him guaranteed, but that is what was rumoured, hence this article and other mentions of the same things by baseball insiders.
Have a nice day and go look for a clue.
Yeah, Acuna may DH. For a month….
You’re on that good-good if you think Acuna will be “The DH” for any real amount of time.
He provides way too much defense in an outfield that isn’t exactly otherwise equipped with go-getter type fielders.
It’s a good way to get his bat in the lineup quicker & slowly come back from his rehab.
‘Rumor that the braves would trade Ozuna and pay Soler’
If Ozuna were a free agent today, would a team pay him 52m?
If no, how would the Braves trade him without eating money or taking back bad contracts? Its not the braves MO to eat money. This does not make sense to me. Unless one is willing to believe a team values Ozuna around 52mil.
So this is what it has come to for the Padres? Looking at opening the checkbook for a guy who hit .223 last year?
How much longer do we have to endure AJ Preller? Uncle Peter just make it stop already.
Yeah Soler is trash. Why bother signing him? ATL can do everyone a favor & make sure nobody overpays for him 😉
@99socalfrc
He will sign with the Braves, so you don’t have to worry. Have a look at what he hit with the Braves, that is why Seitzer is the master.
Castellanos openly wants to go to the Marlins, and apparently Jeter parted ways with them due to their refusal to spend the money necessary to acquire him, or any other decent players that would actually allow them to be competitive.
I’m a Red Sox fan, and I am behind Jeter 110%
Build your team to compete, or rebuild. If you can’t do either of those, sell the damn team.
I agree. At some point the league as a whole needs to stop catering to these bottom feeding owners. If an owner isn’t willing to field $100-120 million annual payroll tell him to go buy a AAA team.
No thank you. We don’t need yet another below average bat with poor defence on an expensive contract.
I don’t actually think the Padres are going to sign anyone major this off-season. I think they’ll just go with the mess they’ve created (Profar/Kim/Myers) and use that flexibility.
If I were Preller, however, I’d just try to sign Pham back cheap and see if he has a bounce back year now further removed from his injury.
Soler must be injured… Preller is talking to him.
Dickerson contract isn’t even guaranteed. I’d imagine he is competition for heredia if anything.
Kills me that people say lack of respect Braves gave FF. Past two years dealing with a pandemic, no gate revenue in 2020. I want the Braves to actually have a owner not a company that considers the club a asset. However, in this case they actually show how much they take in or lose. No one expected the revenue they received in 21. What did they do? Fans showed up, spent boatloads of money and made them 2nd in attendance behind the Dodgers who btw have a Larger ballpark. They waited to see where the financial landscape would be. THAT IS JUST SMART. Ughh, I don’t want to talk about FF anymore it’s pointless. He joined the Dodgers. Olson WANTS to be a Brave. I’m hoping this kid goes out and Mashes. I believe this team has a chip on they’re shoulder after all this. Good, have one. Riley, Albies, Swanson, all took steps forward last year. Do it again.
Would love the Braves to resign him, but since Ozuna is pretty much unmovable, I imagine it would be very unlikely they’d have anywhere near the highest bid. Hope he does well wherever he lands, because he’s awesome.
This sounds like a Preller special. Trade Myers, eat salary, attach a prospect, and have Soler take his place.
Bravesnation….are you suggesting FF “didn’t” want to be a Brave?
That’s just crazy talk.
Atl. did that man wrong……period.
A huge thank you to Soler for the 21 WS.
Given his “middling” regular season play though, it would be wise to let him go now. Acuna’s coming back and the outfield is crowded.
I think the Braves’ front office is way ahead of me on this and Soler will go elsewhere for his “middling” regular season play.