The Giants are “in talks” with free agent slugger Jorge Soler, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s unclear how close the sides are in those talks or if anything is imminent.
The 32-year-old Soler opted out of the final year and $13MM of a three-year, $36MM deal with the Marlins at the beginning of the offseason. That seemed like a foregone conclusion after the 2019 American League home run leader (48) posted one of his best seasons in 2023. Serving as a part-time right fielder and regular DH in Miami, Soler .250/.341/.512 (126 wRC+) with 36 home runs. Last year’s 11.4% walk rate and 24.3% strikeout rate were both the second-best marks of his career, and Soler continued to deliver his typical brand of loud contact. His 91.3 mph average exit velocity (81st percentile) and 48% hard-hit rate (84th percentile) both placed him among the best in the game.
A fit in San Francisco seems fairly obvious. Soler would immediately become the top power threat in a generally light-hitting Giants offense. Last season, San Francisco 19th in the big leagues in home runs, 24th in runs scored, 28th in average (.235), 24th in OBP (.312) and 27th in slugging (.383).
While Soler likely won’t see much time in the outfield, he’s a nice right-handed complement to left-handed corner outfielders like Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski. Production against left-handed pitchers, in particular, was a problem for the 2023 Giants (.245/.306/.376). Soler’s mammoth .277/.393/.688 output against lefties last year would represent an enormous boost to San Francisco in such situations. Soler could join Conforto and Yastrzemski in a rotation through the corner outfield spots and designated hitter, spending more time at the latter.
From a payroll vantage point, the Giants can easily accommodate Soler or just about any free agent on the market. Their offseason trades shipping out Anthony DeSclafani, Mitch Haniger and Ross Stripling have helped to drop the payroll to a projected $154MM — well shy of the franchise-record $200MM. They’re similar well-situated with regard to the luxury tax — about $37MM shy of the first threshold, per Roster Resource.
Soler has drawn interest from teams several teams this winter, but many have since filled their designated hitter vacancies with more affordable free agents. The Mariners (Mitch Garver, two years/$24MM), Blue Jays (Justin Turner, one year/$13MM) and Diamondbacks (Joc Pederson, one year, $12.5MM) have all gone in other directions. Pederson, notably, was one of the top power hitters on the same Giants roster that’s now said to be in talks with Soler. His departure only further underscores the need to replenish the lineup with someone capable of hitting in the middle of the order.
The Giants have been active in free agency this winter but were unable to secure top targets Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both of whom not only signed elsewhere but landed with the archrival Dodgers. San Francisco did lure top KBO outfielder Jung Hoo Lee to Oracle Park on a six-year, $113MM contract, and they’ve also signed flamethrowing Jordan Hicks with an eye toward moving him from the bullpen to the rotation. Backup catcher Tom Murphy also inked a two-year, $8.3MM deal. Generally speaking, however, it’s been a tough offseason in terms of player acquisition for the Giants. Adding Soler would be the biggest boost the team has made to its lineup thus far, though time will tell whether a deal ultimately comes to fruition.
WOOT! Should have got him back when the Cubs let him loose. More HRs please
The Cubs traded him to KC for Davis before the 2017 season.
I have to wonder what JD Martinez is seeking if the Giants are turning to Soler.
We all know he was traded to KC. Giants were knocked out by Cubs that year. We all saw him and wanted him on our team.
Ok, then explain your comment about the Cubs “letting him loose”
Makes him sound like a fart
drasco036 — Agree. JD Martinez is the better player, even at age 36. Soler’s career has been so up and down; this looks like the Giants going cheap (or at least cheaper).
The fans with nets in kayaks are going to love the Soler power exhibition
Unfortunately he’s right handed, and no right handed hitter has ever hit one into the water…
Posey came close though
An excellent point that he would pull to left and not right. But see the videos for ten longest opposite field home runs in 2022, and perhaps Jorge will have an opposite field splash after all.
More to come… or not. I guess we will see.
Ugh
He should go to Coors for a year and hit 40+ out if he’s not happy with his current market
Soler, if healthy, would mash homeruns at Coors Field, that’s actually not a bad landing spot for him!
It is if he wants to win.
we did it boys
knock on wood, too soon..if anything we at least got someone of relevance, that could help, to look this way!
10 minutes later… “Jorge Soler signs with _[insert one of 29 other teams here]_”
Yup
Doesn’t bode well for Ramos.
I’m more worried about Meckler and Matos than Ramos. Someone will have to go be it Slater, Yaz, or Conforto if the Soler signing happens
Nah. They could just plug in Soler at DH.
andsc–we already have Conforto, Flores, and JD who could DH too
Agnes, I’m talking about a TRUE D.H. they could just plug in every day and count on. Not the weak “D.H. by committe” the Giants have been using.
I see what you mean andsc, I’m not against signing him at all and we really need the power, how many times did we lose last year when just one more measly hit would have won the game? Felt like we left a billion players on base. I am just wary of free agents with power that sign with us, seems like they suddenly fall off a cliff the minute the ink dries! We are due for some good luck tho, may he get 120 runs batted in this season with us!
I’m thinking Flores platoons with Wade, JD traded, and Chapman signed. IF this thing happens..
I’ve kinda thought JD would be traded all winter too oldgfan, but it’s a bummer he hurt his ankle and his numbers in the second half were not good so we would be selling low, because the first half of the season he looked great!
I think there are definitely more moves to be made and Zaidi has been trying, it takes two to tango though. But I feel like things are finally opening up some… so close to P&C reporting too!
Flores probably gets most starts at 1b against lefties and would think Soler would have to play left against a lot of righties and be the main DH against lefties.
Make Davis part of a trade for Adames, sign Chapman and Soler!! Would be a descent 1-6 hitting lineup. Just need another Pitcher or 2
@oldgfan..I hope this scenario happens..sign Soler and Chapman, then sign a low tier SP like Ryu for depth
@oldgfan..I hope this scenario happens..sign Soler and Chapman, trade JD for mlb ready SP, then sign a low tier SP like Ryu for depth
dubtastic, I disagree. You may want Chapman now, but you may not 3 years from now when he’s Longo 2.0.
And the last thing the Giants need is depth pitching. They have a lot of young pitchers that are as good an option as Ryu. They need a TOR guy like Montgomery or Snell, or short of that roll with young arms already in the system for depth.
I’m not really high on Chapman, but I feel like it’s a signing SFG CAN make happen. Prior relationships etc…
Still need TOR starter, as this is probably Cobb’s last year and can’t really count on Robby Ray until we see his comeback.
@JeanMatrac I definitely see what you mean on Chapman and I’d be fine if they did get a TOR FA..I’d actually prefer that they do
I think I’d prefer to holdout for Bregman. Not keen on spending the superstar allocation to not superstars.
Ramos doesn’t bode well for Ramos. Dude been a prospect for what, 3 years now? And hasn’t shown any promise at all. Looks like he and Matos are both busts and the front office knows it.
First of all Jack, both Ramos and Matos were picks by the previous regime not by Zaidi, I know you didn’t specifically pin that on him, I just want to be clear to the anti Z crowd here. Second of all, Ramos is 24 and Matos is 22, just because they have been around for awhile does not make them busts yet as they signed when they were basically kids. Third of all, look at Ramos’ numbers from last year, he did much much better. Matos has promise too, he often didn’t throw to the cut off man but that was my main complaint with him, he looked great in CF otherwise.
Way too soon to call Matos a bust. He still has that taste on big league coffee on his tongue.
Lmao Ramos and Matos are 23 and younger and got sign at like 18/19 years old! Ramos hit well last year in the minors
Ramos and Matos both got called up last season and looked highly unimpressive. Compared to many other teams top prospects who get going right out the gate. Ramos and Matos are just like Joey Bart: busts.
I highly doubt this will be a long term signing. It might be a two year deal, making more in AAV than he previously had with the Marlins, plus an opt-out.
I’m fine with that.
I’d rather JD Martinez even if the price is higher.
Martinez is the better hitter, but he’s also 4 years older. Martinez had a 2.2 fWAR last season to Soler’s 1.9, so there isn’t a huge difference between the two. Part of the equation we don’t about, at least not yet, is what kind of money would it take for each. If JD is more expensive, how much needs to be considered. If Soler is asking for more years, then maybe JD is the better choice. Time will tell.
This would be a good addition to help all the lite hitting they have
At least its a power bat
Breaking news! Per john heyman ! Jorhey Solar appears headed to the giants !!!
Please.
Thinks it will happen Kirk! But the trouble is who goes? Someone needs to get traded be it Yaz, Slater, or Conforto? We need room for Meckler, Matos, and Fitz too!
Agnes, Meckler, Matos and Fitzgerald have options. The Giants don’t need to keep them on the active roster to retain them.
However, I don’t like the Soler signing because he is primarily a DH. I had really hoped that Flores would be the full time DH but with Soler added, he gets less playing time. And Soler is hardly a great hitter. He was good last year but his two years prior to that were slightly below average. He was just above average in 2020 but if you discount that COVID shortened season, he’s had just two good years in the last 4 seasons.
Thanks Baseball77, I know about the options with the kids, I just like to see them get consistent playing time in the bigs, it gives you a better idea of what you have than having them on the bus back and forth constantly but Zaidi does love a player with options so it will happen! Blake also has options now too since we kept him all last year so he will go back and forth.
I agree about Soler, but he can’t be any worse than Joc or Conforto or Haniger were last year, can he? Lol! We have needed power for a long time. It is always risky signing any free agent, and often they flop but the in house power options are few. The same thing you said about Soler could be said about Chapman, he’s on the downside of his career too so all of it is a bit scary.
I agree about playing the kids but I think Soler could be worse than the guys you mentioned. However, they had bigger warning signs than Soler so I don’t think he will be worse. But they are good indicators that some guys’ power doesn’t translate well to SF. I don’t remember where the information is, but there is a website where they do overlays for home runs for by specific parks to see how many would have gone out at that park. It would be interesting to see if Soler would hit as many home runs in SF as he did in Miami.
And I am not a Chapman signing fan. I hope the Giants pass on him. I think he is overrated and that contract will look bad in a couple of years. I’d much rather see the Giants sign Jordan Montgomery but the owner and FO both seem to think that is not where their priorities should be. That means an Opening Day rotation of Webb, Hicks and 3 openers (unless the Giants really do let Harrison, Beck and Winn stretch out to traditional starters).
77-I don’t want Chapman either, Casey Schmitt has a rocket for an arm and he has future hitting potential if he can just lay off the breaking pitches, so I would rather start Casey at 3B, he could also man SS if Luciano isn’t working there. We do need more infield depth but Chapman isn’t versatile.
As far as pitching, let’s see what happens. They are waiting on both Snell and Montgomery to come down in price/years. The rumor that Snell wanted 9 years/270 million is just insane. There also could be a trade. Sounds like we were in on Burnes so now they could be trying to get Bieber or Luzardo? But we also have a LOT of arms in our system that are really close. We have seen Harrison and he is young but will be a stud. Whisenhunt is close. Black sounds like he is ready and he doesn’t have the name but Giants are high on him. Both Beck and Winn looked respectable, I like them. Birdsong, Roupp, Miller, Teng, McDonald could all debut this year. I know you can’t rely totally on young arms, but we have a lot of good looking ones so Zaidi doesn’t want to block them with a massive contract to Snell or Montgomery.
Baseball77, Baseball Savant estimates that Soler would have hit 32 HRs playing at Oracle last season. That’s only 4 less than what he hit playing in Miami.
Agree and disagree about Chapman. I don’t think he’s overrated, but think the 6 years he’s asking for is twice what I’d like to see, since his numbers seem to be declining.
I agree also about Montgomery, though I wouldn’t like to see a deal was was too long for him either. But the baseball adage, of never having too much pitching is true, so I’d rather him than Chapman.
I wouldn’t refer to Harrison as an opener though. They will limit his innings, but the way the game is managed these days most pitchers only go 5 innings anyway.
Totally with you on Schmitty. Don’t know what becomes of him if Chapman is signed. Still think Casey has great upside.
Jean Matrac – Thanks for sharing the website and the information. Good to know.
Check out Chapman’s dWAR at BBRef. They are going down. I think his reputation is based on his peak defense. Don’t get me wrong, he is still above average defensively but there are indicators that his defense is also slipping. I think the cost right now is all world defense when it would merely be above average. The cost won’t match the production. Couple that with declining defense and I don’t think he is worth the pickup unless his cost goes down a lot.
Harrison was used as an opener last year for most of his time in AAA. He barely threw 5 innings all season in a start. Maybe he eventually gets worked into throwing 5 a game (assuming that he is throwing well in those games) but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start the year throwing 3 or 4 innings max.
@Baseball77: twitter.com/BenKaspick/status/1754567658341904530
Baseball77, Last season, Harrison had 34.2 IP in 7 GS for the Giants. That’s an average of 4.95 innings per start. He made every scheduled start after he was called up. He totaled 102.1 IP between MiL and ML games. He can certainly be counted on to go 5 innings. They can limit his innings later in the season when Cobb and Ray return. Harrison is not just an opener. but will be an important part of the rotation early.
My jays need a RHH OF, does a slater for Espinal work so you have a backup SS
Ok Murphy, it’s a deal! I love Slates and he has sneaky power, he’s also a smart Stanford boy and a player representative. He’s very well liked in the clubhouse. But we do have too many OF and we are short on middle infield depth, so this could work!
Except removing Slater further weakens the outfield. Could we interest a team in Conforto (and yes, I realize that it wouldn’t be in exchange for Espinal)?
Murphy NFLD — Probably not because Slater is dominant against LH pitching, a terrific PH and glove. And currently a RH OF while the Giants have too many LH hitting OFs.
It’s not that the Giants couldn’t use Esp[inal as a backup SS (although he’s played more 2b), but not straight up for Slater.
If the giants get themselves Matt Chapman which looks very likely they could have a chance at the division. The Stripling trade seems like it was a prelude to a bigger trade/signing as well
What??? You think a starting rotation of Webb, Hicks and three openers, with Chapman at 3rd and Soler at DH will give the Giants a good chance at taking the division from the Dodgers?
You watch what the O’s did with their young arms? Not saying they will do the exact same, but can’t be ruled out, as the Giants have some high upside arms coming up. Don’t expect a division win or World Series ring but could be a good positive year for the youngsters
I hope that some of these young pitchers get a chance and do well but I don’t think a team relying on them so heavily are going to be favorites to take the division from the Dodgers. I’d love it if they did but I just don’t see how, on paper, that could be.
I’m actually in favor of just giving the season to the young players and seeing what they can do with extended playing time. But most fans wouldn’t go for that so the FO won’t either.
Baseball77, Nobody expects to take the division from the Dodgers. But look at the D’backs from last season. They went into the year with only Gallen, Kelly, and Zach Davies (Davies posted a 62 ERA+ last season).
They relied on 3 rookie pitchers, Ryne Nelson, Brandon Pfaadt and Tommy Henry. They didn’t take the division, but did eliminate the Dodgers in the playoffs. Admittedly, just because it worked for AZ doesn’t mean that it will work for SF, but it shows that it’s not impossible to do that and win. AZ also didn’t have the. benefit of mid-season help on the way that the Giants do.
Chapman would be a terrible signing for the Giants.
Agree, Jd would be sufficient for me. I think we need a backup plan for SS
A bit too streaky for a full-time dh but his power will play in that park. Is JD Martinez asking for too much?
This is actually what I love about the Giants front office. Please don’t get stuck with 10 years of streaky Bellinger. Give Solar 2-3 years is the smart move. Thats the Giants way of doing business in case you havent noticed. Gausman, Rodon, etc. 2-3 year deals are the smart move unless its for an MVP guy like Soto next year.
@Jack Hoffman: Letting Gausman walk after two years was absolutely not the “smart move”. In fact, it’s one of the few moves/non-moves I really fault the Giants current front office for.
That 2-3 year strategy has led to one 107 win season and knock out Game 5 in first round and that has been it. Not sure that strategy in fact is working.
gonna have to agree w/spliff here..let Gausman walk was a bad move, I also believe that he wanted to stay..definitely would’ve felt better going into this season knowing we had Webb/Gausman as a one/two punch..
It would make the Giants a more exciting team to watch. Would like to see Bellinger signed as well.
Rather have Bellinger than Soler
Not a huger Soler fan. Not good in the field and inconsistant results at the plate plus a bunch of swing and miss.
.228, .223 and .207 batting averages in 3 of his last 5 seasons. Plus everyone knows you don’t overpay a guy off a career year.
Hi Wilmer! Good to see you!
Go get him! This team needs pop, and I’m also greatly relieved to see that the Giants aren’t calling it an offseason.
Soler and a solid SP would really help the Giants compete in ’24.
Scott, it was only the doomers that said the Giants were calling it an offseason, nobody in the front office or coaching staff said that, they all said there were more moves to be made, Hang tight! Baseball soon!
Thanks for your cheer 🙂
I really love baseball and will always cheer on our boys, I think it is ok to be critical sometimes of moves made by the front office but people just go insane on here and on twitter, et al. They have no idea how to run a baseball team but they think they do ha ha! It’s no fun to be so glum all the time, baseball is supposed to be fun and a break from the BS in life. I like to be positive and hopeful as you just never know with baseball when things gel and magic happens, we’ve all seen it and usually the predictions from all the so called experts are wrong. So go Giants!!!!
But Agnes, don’t you think JD Martinez makes more sense than Soler? Even if JD’s cost would be greater.
The Giants must be signing him. They just said this week the Red Sox were ‘interested’. Everyone time the Red Sox throw out the ‘I’ word the player gets signed.
I hope he signs with the Giants for clickbait’s sake. For the last 6 weeks half of the entire league has been “in on”, “kicking the tires on”, “pushing for” and “rumoured to be” “high” on Jorge Soler haha. His power can play in any park no doubt, even spacious San Francisco.
I’m guessing for DH role, they need to add Chapman for 3B and they can have a good lineup with Soler and Chapman. No Bellinger now that Soler is in talks with the Giants
I suspect that the Soler “news” is as much a message for Boras as anything else. Zaidi has been waiting on Boras to soften his demands.
I was thinking the same..nonetheless, I feel like a Giant(s) move is near!
Do it. He’s a step up from Joc, fer sure.
I’ll believe it when I see it, and then I’ll still wait another week.
I’m “in talks” with Taylor Swift, but she is not responding to my Instagram DMs.
“Pederson, notably, was one of the top power hitters on the same Giants roster that’s now said to be in talks with Soler.”
Why on earth would you do this to a sentence when you can just write it as such:
“Notably, Pederson was one of the top power hitters on the same Giants roster that’s now said to be in talks with Soler.”
Better, but the roster isn’t talking to anyone. Best to flush the sentence and start fresh!
Soler = power
California giving out incentives for Soler Power at the moment is just “talk”…