1:25pm: Mish now tweets that Soler’s agent, Dan Lozano of the MVP Sports Group, tells him there have not yet been any formal extension discussions with the team. Mish adds that Soler is interested in remaining with Miami, however.
11:47am: The Marlins and designated hitter Jorge Soler have held “preliminary” talks about a potential contract extension, Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald report. Soler’s contract calls for him to earn $12MM next year — a number that’ll soon jump to $13MM when he tallies his 550th plate appearance — but that’s a player option. Soler, unsurprisingly, is likely to decline that player option and return to the open market if a new deal isn’t reached, per the report.
The 31-year-old Soler is in the midst of a rebound season at the plate, having slashed .241/.328/.516 with 35 home runs in 525 trips to the plate. It’s a stark turnaround from the 2022 season — his first in Miami — during which he batted just .207/.295/.400 during an injury-marred campaign. Soler has slightly improved on his walk rate in ’23 (10.7%), and his strikeout rate has fallen from an ugly 29.4% last year to a more manageable 24.6% in 2023.
Soler’s 91 mph average exit velocity (76th percentile), 15.1% barrel rate (93rd percentile) and 47.5% hard-hit rate (82nd percentile) all lend some credence to his rebound effort at the plate. His 35 home runs tie him with Mookie Betts for fifth in the Majors. He’s held his own against right-handed pitching (.229/.310/.458) and absolutely decimated left-handed opponents (.282/.380/.718). As such, teams that have struggled against southpaws could have particular interest in Soler this winter.
Between that success at the plate and a woefully thin class of free-agent position players this winter, it’s only logical that Soler would exercise his right to opt back into free agency. His Herculean run with the Braves following a 2021 trade from Kansas City to Atlanta set the stage for Soler to land his current three-year, $36MM deal in free agency. And while Soler is now a couple years older, of course, his 2023 campaign at the plate has been a more consistent and complete year overall than he had in 2021 (.223/.316/.432 between the Royals and Braves).
One potentially complicating factor this time around would be a qualifying offer. Soler was ineligible to receive a QO last time he reached free agency, due to the fact that he was traded midseason. He’ll spend the entire 2023 season with one team and, as a player who hasn’t previously received a QO, will be eligible for one this winter. The QO value figures to increase from last year’s $19.65MM, likely surpassing $20MM this time around. As is frequently the case, Soler probably won’t match that AAV on a multi-year deal, but he could earn more than double the QO value in guaranteed money on a multi-year deal in free agency.
There will be fewer impact bats available in free agency this offseason than perhaps at any point in recent history. Shohei Ohtani and Cody Bellinger topped the most recent edition of MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings, and Jeimer Candelario is having his third strong season in his past four years.
There’s little in the way of productive, prime-aged hitters reaching the market thereafter. Matt Chapman’s bat has cooled considerably since a torrid start to the season. Teoscar Hernandez is having his least-productive campaign since 2018. Neither Michael Conforto nor Hunter Renfroe is hitting anywhere close to previous peak levels. Rhys Hoskins tore his ACL in spring training. Justin Turner seems likely to decline his own player option, but he’ll turn 39 this winter. J.D. Martinez is having a strong season but has twice been on the injured list and just turned 36.
Jackson and Mish write that Soler has enjoyed his time in Miami and has interest in working out a longer-term arrangement. That said, between his age and this year’s production, Soler will have a case as one of the more appealing bats on a thin market. Given his proximity to free agency, it seems unlikely he’d take a substantial discount. The Marlins already outbid the field to sign Soler once, when signing him to his current contract, but it’d not yet clear if they’ll be comfortable putting forth another market-value offer when Soler’s stock is presumably higher than it was last time around.
Jorge, you are loved! That is all, mash and get that bag!
Miami needs Jorge’s “Soler power”
Don’t let him get away…
I think it worked out tremendously for the braves, and the marlins. I’d love to have him back but it isn’t feasible with Ozuna on the roster, he seems to have made great for himself with the marlins, he should re-sign
Gotta think Soler is seeking 3-4 years around 18 million annually this time around… he’s been a beast this year.
then their be opt out years for marlins . not him
The number is 4Yrs./100M.
He finally increased his barrel rate, which was always the issue.
Old-school folks will say he’s more square in the box these days, which he always should have been (6’4”, no-brainer. Sluggers are stubborn).
Having Arraez around probably helped this gentleman immensely.
He can put up 30/90 every year IF he’s focused AND in shape EVERY YEAR. He’s known to be a hard-partier, but living in Miami has probably shown him he’s in a bigger pond.
3/$45M with $3M incentives per year would could stretch in to 3/$54M. I don’t think he’ll get 4 years or get much more in AAV than this.
“3/$45M with $3M incentives)..Lower revenue Teams like the Marlins should be cautious about Long term deals, but if Soler is reasonable I think the Marlins should extend him 2-3 yrs. I like your terms, but if the cost gets much higher they should move on.
Soler has been a great guy to buy low on. but he’ll be looking at too much money this time around.
Wouldn’t want my team to give out the contract. He’s going to be inconsistent.
Don’t do it.
He seems to alternate between above average production and below average. Next year will be a bust and 2025 he will mash again.
I see him in the cubs if they don’t get belli
Power gets paid. No doubt about it. Gonna cost to keep him. But there’s mutual interest.
Fish need a lot more though than what they have now to be competitive.
31 years old and a career WAR of 5.7, lol give me a break. He’s an above average DH who is extremely streaky. Anyone who gives him more than 3 years and more than 16mm is a fool.
The next wave of players are terrible. Baseball is dying.
“Baseball is dying”…Quit reading old newspapers from 1952. In the current year, 2023, Baseball profits, TV ratings and attendance are all SKY ROCKETING.
2023 has 13 teams under .500 and Miami is just an L away from making it 14. That’s literally almost 1/2 of the entire league. The product is so watered down.
ALL sports are now watered down. Billionaires like money and they do things to create excitement and make it easier to score(NBA 3 point line).The NFL has become a joke and small, backup level QBs like Curt Cousins(and Russell Wilson)are considered 40 million a year superstars. All that being said, MLB and it’s new quicker pace and more runs scored is more popular than ever.
For teams to be above .500, that means that some teams have to be below .500. One team wins and another loses. It’s not that hard lol
There are 4,860 games in a season which means that there are 2430 wins and 2430 losses.
I was a big doubter, but Soler has earned his keep(and a 2 yr extension)and please, don’t get me started on Avisail Garcia.
Soler is streaky so any kind of extension has to consider that. Avisail simply forgot how to hit once he put on that Marlins uniform.
Garcia grew up into the White Sox culture.
Dare him to decline the QO and gladly accept either choice.
Smart thought. That might be the best way to go, give him a qualifying offer and take the draft pick if he declines.
A Q.O. would crater his market so it’s likely he’ll accept. He’s not a ~$20MM/yr. bat.
He’s as much a 20/1 year player as he is a multi year contract player. Would rather have a one year deal than sign him into his aging years. All one year deals are overpays
Bring him back!
A similar 3 year deal like the one he signed last year probably gets it done. I don’t see the Marlins doing a deal that would pay him thru his age 36 season after taking a bath on Avisail Garcia
I would likely do that if I’m the Fish. He’s not yet 32 and you do want players to know that performance is rewarded. Soler doesn’t want to overplay his hand, like Jurickson Propar did last year. Corner OFs are never going to get long term Center fielder’s money.
Contract year phenomenon player. Anyone signing him long-term will learn it the hard way.
Maybe slightly more than what he is already getting makes some sense, but even that feels dangerous beyond maybe another 2 years
This is the type of situation the Marlins are always in, and they tend to make the wrong decision almost every time
Everyone they sign falls off or is a poor decision from the onset, and everyone they could have/should have/didnt sign has a big year, and then they try to sign those guys for way more money than they could have had them, and then those guys fall off
The Soler deal last time wasnt as questionable as Garcia, but I wasnt a fan of doing either of those things in the scenario they were in at the time, and i say the same again now.
Oh great, that hack Steve Adams is back with another travesty of syntax and punctuation.
“Soler, unsurprisingly, is likely to decline that player option and return to the open market if a new deal isn’t reached, per the report.”
What even is this? Why are you splitting up the subject and the verb? Just start the sentence with “unsurprisingly” and stop chopping up the flow.
“He’ll spend the entire 2023 season with one team and, as a player who hasn’t previously received a QO, will be eligible for one this winter.”
You don’t need a comma after “and” because there never should be a comma after that word. It could be before “and” but never after. Better just eliminate it altogether.
“He’ll spend the entire 2023 season with one team and as a player who hasn’t previously received a QO, will be eligible for one this winter.”
I don’t understand how Adams still has a job here.
I do Soler at a reasonable price for 3 years. He’s an all-or-nothing guy who will always be inconsistent. If he’s looking for anything more, I let the next sucker step up. We’re already stuck with Garcia’s contract. I don’t think we can deal with another regrettable contract.
Plus the Marlins already declined to give a similar aged Starling Marte less money than what is being talked about for essentially a DH with more volatile skillset, even though they then spent the next 3 years looking for a CFer
If you didnt pay him, it would be insanity to overpay here
that still workout for marlins Jesús Luzardo.
cant complain i do that every day
That was still a bad trade, value wise, at the time. Getting lucky later doesnt make it good, especially since it also lead to the Marlins wasting even more money on Garcia
to bad we /marlins cant pull Jean Segura trade with Garcia’s contract..