Solak, 30 next month, was a second-round pick by the Yankees back in 2016 but has rarely stayed in one organization for more than a few seasons at a time to this point in his career. The journeyman was traded from New York to Tampa in the three-team swap that brought Brandon Drury to the Bronx prior to the 2018 season, and then was flipped to the Rangers by the Rays in a deal that proved to be something of a coup for Tampa as they landed right-hander Pete Fairbanks.

While Fairbanks went on to become a dominant righty for the Rays, Solak made his big league debut for the Rangers in 2019. It was an impressive cup of coffee, and he hit .293/.393/.491 (126 wRC+) in 135 plate appearances for the club. The strong showing earned him a more regular role with Texas over the next two seasons, but Solak generally looked somewhat over-matched at the plate during that time with a lackluster .218/.350/.357 (88 wRC+) slash line in 744 combined trips to the plate. That led to Solak spending the majority of the 2022 season in the minor leagues before a season-ending foot fracture took him out of the picture for the remainder of the year.

At the start of the 2022-23 offseason, Solak was traded from the Rangers to the Reds in a cash deal. While he remained with the Reds throughout the offseason, he was designated for assignment by the club once it became apparent that he wouldn’t make their Opening Day roster. That led Solak to ride the transactional carousel all throughout the 2023 campaign. He briefly played for the Mariners, White Sox, Braves, and Tigers over this time, leaving him to be part of six MLB organizations in a single calendar year through a series of trades and waiver claims. Eventually, Solak finally cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by Detroit in August and elected free agency last winter.

Solak signed on with the Mariners on a minor league deal back in January, and while he didn’t make it onto the big league club he enjoyed a solid season at Triple-A Tacoma. In 90 games for the club, he slashed a respectable .311/.406/.446 with an impressive 15.3% strikeout rate. Even in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, that performance was good for a wRC+ 20% better than league average. Solak re-entered the open market earlier this offseason and has now found a new home with the Pirates, for whom he can offer some valuable positional depth capable of playing all over the diamond. For a club that sported the league’s third-weakest offense in 2024, a versatile bat like Solak that has had flashed of MLB success in the past could be an attractive bench option or non-roster depth piece headed into the 2025 campaign.

Solak, 29, had a tremendous major league debut with the Rangers in 2019 but wasn’t able to maintain it in subsequent seasons. Originally a second-round pick of the Yankees, he was twice traded before getting to the big leagues. The Yanks flipped him to the Rays as part of a three-team trade that sent Steven Souza Jr. to the Diamondbacks and Brandon Drury to the Bronx, then the Rays sent Solak to Texas straight up for Pete Fairbanks.

In the 2019 campaign, Solak crushed in the minors and then carried that over into his first 33 big league contests. He hit five home runs in that time and drew walks in 11.1% of his plate appearances. His .293/.393/.491 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 126. But his production dipped in the 2020 season and hasn’t recovered. He has made 839 plate appearances in the majors over the past four seasons, hitting 16 home runs and walking at a 7% clip. His .246/.317/.354 slash line in that time translates to a wRC+ of 86.

There were questions about Solak’s second base defense while he was a prospect and the glovework has indeed become an issue. His work at the keystone was graded as subpar and he was pushed into a corner outfield role when the Rangers signed Marcus Semien. That move down the defensive spectrum made his lack of offensive production more of an issue, which pushed him off the roster. He was traded to the Reds going into 2023 but wasn’t going to crack the Opening Day roster in Cincinnati. They designated him for assignment and flipped him to the Mariners, but he went to the White Sox via a waivers a couple of weeks later. As the season went on, he was also claimed by Atlanta and Detroit, the latter club passing him through waivers in August.

For the Mariners, they are likely attracted to Solak’s right-handed bat. Their outfield depth leans left-handed, with each of Luke Raley, Taylor Trammell, Cade Marlowe, Dominic Canzone, Zach DeLoach and Jonatan Clase hitting from that side. Solak has hit .283/.363/.428 against southpaws in his career for a 117 wRC+, compared to a .236/.309/.343 and 78 wRC+ against righties.

That could perhaps allow him to carve out a role on the small side of a platoon arrangement in Seattle. He will first have to earn a roster spot and doesn’t have options in the event he succeeds. But if he manages to both get on the roster and stick, he still has less than three years of service time and could be retained for future seasons via arbitration.

Aug 4: The Tigers announced Friday that they’ve claimed lefty Andrew Vasquez off waivers from the Phillies and, in a corresponding move, designated infielder/outfielder Nick Solak for assignment.

Vaasquez, 29, was a somewhat surprising DFA following the trade deadline. He’s pitched to a sparkling 2.27 ERA in 39 2/3 innings this season, although the rest of his numbers don’t exactly signify that type of dominance. The lefty’s 20% strikeout rate is a few percentage points south of the league average, while his 8.2% walk rate and 43% ground-ball rate are right are both roughly average. Vasquez has stranded 86.6% of the baserunners he’s allowed this season — a fluky high number that’s likely bound for some regression. Fielding-independent metrics peg him more in the low-4.00s than in the low 2.00s.

That said, he was still an effective reliever for the Phils, and it was a genuine surprise to see him dropped from the 40-man roster over other DFA candidates. It’s not particularly surprising that a team with high waiver priority placed a claim. Only six teams (A’s, Royals, Rockies, Nationals, White Sox, Cardinals) had a higher waiver priority than Detroit. That group apparently passed on putting in a claim, but the Tigers will plug Vasquez, who’s out of minor league options, directly into the big league bullpen.

If things work out for Vasquez in Detroit, he could be a long-term piece of the relief corps. He’ll finish the season with one-plus year of big league service time, meaning Detroit can control him for another five years.

Solak, 28, continues to bounce throughout the league via the DFA circuit. He’s been with the Rangers, Reds, Mariners, White Sox, Braves and Tigers since November, never making it through waivers despite frequent DFAs. He was once a well-regarded prospect — a bat-first player whose defensive home was up for debate. Questions about Solak’s glove still persist, and his bat never developed as hoped at the Major League level. He’s a career .252/.327/.372 hitter in 974 big league plate appearances and is batting .226/.346/.363 between three Triple-A clubs this season.

With the trade deadline now passed, Solak will be placed on waivers once again and made available to all 29 other clubs.

On this date four years ago, the Rays and Rangers lined up a deal that was more an interesting swap of young players than a pivotal deadline move. It was a one-for-one that sent reliever Pete Fairbanks to Tampa Bay and second base prospect Nick Solak to Arlington.

Fairbanks had some MLB experience, but neither player was an established big leaguer at the time of the trade. The right-hander had pitched in eight games for Texas. He averaged over 97 MPH on his heater but had allowed 10 runs in 8 2/3 frames. Solak hadn’t yet gotten to the majors; he was hitting .266/.353/.485 with 17 homers in Triple-A at the time of the deal.

Despite being the player without MLB experience, Solak was probably the more well-known of the two at the time. He’d been a 2nd-round selection of the Yankees a few years before. Solak was already involved in one notable trade, going to Tampa Bay in the 2018 three-team deal that sent Brandon Drury from Arizona to the Bronx.

Prospect evaluators consistently raised questions about Solak’s defensive acumen at second base. There was less trepidation about his offensive upside, though. He’d been an accomplished minor league hitter and was on the doorstep of the majors. Fairbanks had high-octane stuff but spotty control and had twice undergone Tommy John surgery as a minor leaguer, a big reason he was still unestablished by his age-25 campaign.

The initial returns looked promising for Texas. Solak debuted a month later and hit .292/.393/.491 over his first 33 MLB contests. He’d get the Opening Day nod in left field the next season. Fairbanks pitched 13 times for the Rays, allowing 10 runs across 12 1/3 frames.

Beginning in 2020, the deal swung definitively in Tampa Bay’s favor. Fairbanks was excellent in the shortened season, working to a 2.70 ERA while fanning a third of opponents in 27 regular season outings. He pitched nine times during the Rays’ run to the pennant, securing three saves and holds apiece in the playoffs. Fairbanks logged a career-high 42 2/3 innings the next year, working to a 3.59 ERA with 14 holds and a 29.7% strikeout rate.

Solak, on the other hand, never built off that strong debut. He hit .246/.317/.354 in a little more than 800 MLB plate appearances from 2020-22. Concerns about his defense were founded and pushed him more frequently to left field. Texas parted with him at the start of last offseason, trading him to the Reds for cash. Solak has consistently hit well in the upper minors but has bounced around via waivers and small trades since the Rangers moved on. He’s currently in Triple-A with the Tigers.

Fairbanks’ durability concerns have presented themselves over the past two years. He lost the first half of last season to a lat strain. He’s battled Raynaud’s syndrome, a condition that can lead to a cold numbness in the fingers, on a couple occasions. Hip inflammation cost him a few weeks earlier this year.

Still, the Rays have to be pleased with the work they’ve gotten out of Fairbanks. He’s one of their top relievers, owner of a 2.78 ERA in 123 regular season innings since the trade. He has allowed only six runs in 15 postseason frames over three seasons. The Rays signed him to a three-year deal in January, guaranteeing him $12MM to buy out his final three arbitration years and secure a 2026 club option.

No one would argue the Fairbanks trade was as impactful as acquiring the likes of Randy Arozarena or Isaac Paredes. It proved an adept pickup, though. Adding an effective late-inning arm for a young hitter who fell a bit short of expectations has paid off. The front office and coaching staff surely hope Fairbanks will continue to play a key role in postseason runs over the years to come.

Solak, 28, continues his journey around the league, as he has bounced from team to team quite a bit in the past seven months. He spent the past few years with the Rangers but was traded to the Reds for cash in November of last year. He then went to the Mariners on another cash deal before successive waiver claims took him to the White Sox, Atlanta and now the Tigers.

The fact that Solak keeps losing his roster spot and finding another is a reflection of the fact that he has continued to success in the minors while struggling in the majors. He debuted in the big leagues in 2019 with a .293/.393/.491 showing but has hit a diminished .246/.317/.354 since then. His Triple-A slash is much closer to that 2019 output, coming in at .286/.368/.493.

Several teams have grabbed him in the hopes of unlocking that kind of showing at the big league level but it hasn’t quite happened since that encouraging debut in Texas. The Tigers will now be next in line for the experiment. Defensively, he came up as a second baseman but his glovework was generally considered poor and he was moved to a corner outfield role when the Rangers signed Marcus Semien. The Tigers could theoretically move him back to the keystone, though he has played exclusively in the outfield so far this season.

The Detroit outfield has taken quite a few hits this year, as each of Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Austin Meadows and Matt Vierling are currently on the injured list. That leaves them with Akil Baddoo, Jake Marisnick and Zach McKinstry as their three regulars, with Tyler Nevin also factoring into the mix. Solak figures to give them a bit of depth for the time being, though he is in his final option year and will therefore be out of options next season.

As for Turnbull, he was placed on the injured list May 13 due to neck discomfort. He received an MRI on Monday, per Chris McCosky of Detroit News, and was cleared to start some activities but doesn’t seem close to a rehab assignment. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which rules him out until early July.

Heller, 31, was just designated for assignment by the Rays last week. Signed to a minor league deal in the winter, he had his contract selected in late May but was optioned back to the minors before getting into a game. In 18 games at the Triple-A level for the year, he’s logged 27 1/3 innings with a 3.95 ERA, 26% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate and 49.4% ground ball rate.

He has a bit of major league experience, getting into 31 games with the Yankees from 2016 to 2020 with a 2.59 ERA in that time. Unfortunately, he then spent much of 2021 and 2022 injured before landing with the Rays this year. Tampa frequently cycles pitchers on and off their roster throughout the season but it seems that Heller drew enough interest from clubs around the league that Tampa will get a little bit of extra money to spend on international amateurs.

For Atlanta, they’ve dealt with some challenges to their pitching staff, especially with starters Max Fried and Kyle Wright on the injured list and facing significant absences. They also have relievers Dylan Lee and Michael Tonkin on the IL, alongside Tyler Matzek who underwent Tommy John surgery last year. They will add Heller to their Triple-A club and have a bit of extra depth on hand for when they need a fresh arm. Heller is in his final option year and will be out of options next year. He has over three years of service time and will be eligible for arbitration this winter.

In addition to giving up a bit of bonus pool money, the club is also risking losing Solak. The 28-year-old once seemed like a potential building block for the Rangers when he debuted in 2019 and hit .293/.393/.491 in his first 33 games. He had always hit well in the minors and there was little reason to doubt he would continue to do so. Unfortunately, he slashed just .246/.317/.354 from 2020 to 2022. He was also pushed off second base both due to his subpar work there and the club signing Marcus Semien. He’s since spent more time in left field, which put more pressure on his bat to provide value.

In November, the club finally decided to cut bait and flipped Solak to the Reds for cash. He lasted on the Reds’ roster through the winter but was designated for assignment at the end of Spring Training. He then went to the Mariners in another cash deal but got the DFA treatment again just 10 days later. A couple of waiver claims then took him to the White Sox and Braves in the middle of April. Solak hit .272/.364/.444 for a 106 wRC+ in 173 plate appearances for Gwinnett. He struck out in just 15.6% of his plate appearances while walking at a 9.8% rate.

Now Solak has been given the DFA treatment yet again and might soon find himself in a sixth organization in less than a year. Despite the struggles at the major league level, he continues to hit in the minors. He’s in his final option year so some club could put in a claim and stash him in the minors. He’s been limited to left field this year but perhaps some club would give him another chance at the keystone. If he were to clear waivers, he would stick with the Braves since he has less than three years of service time and does not have a previous outright.

Harris played in just seven games this season before landing on the 10-day IL due to a lower back strain. While initial indications from the team were that Harris could be back after only a minimum stay on the IL, he wound up missing about three weeks of action due to the issue. His absence hasn’t done much to slow down a deep and talented Braves roster, as Atlanta currently sits atop the NL East with a 17-9 record, holding a two-game lead over second-place New York and a four-game lead over both Miami and Philadelphia, who’ll head into the weekend at 13-13.

The return of Harris figures to push Sam Hilliard from center field to left field somewhat regularly, with Kevin Pillar and Eddie Rosario also mixing in at the position. Hilliard, in particular, has been a key contributor in Harris’ absence, batting .296/.367/.537 with three home runs, four stolen bases and solid glovework in center field.

That said, Hilliard has also punched out in a mammoth 41.7% of his plate appearances (25 of 60) and is currently sporting a .500 average on balls in play that is sure to regress over time. Hilliard rarely chases off the plate (21%), but when he does, his 31% contact rate is the second-lowest mark in all of baseball (min. 60 plate appearances). His 70% contact rate on pitches within the zone is the third-lowest among that same subset, and his overall 58.6% contact rate leads only Giants Rule 5 catcher/outfielder Blake Sabol. Strikeout issues are nothing new for Hilliard, who entered the season with a career 32.7% rate in 639 plate appearances with the Rockies.

None of Pillar (.227/.277/.341), Rosario (.222/.263/.417) or Marcell Ozuna (.085/.194/.203) are hitting well this year. The Braves are winning anyway, and particularly now with Harris returning, they can afford to see if Hilliard can improve his contact skills or if one or more of those three struggling veterans can turn things around to help solidify the team’s outlook in left field and at designated hitter. If not, those could be potential areas of focus at this summer’s trade deadline.

Turning back to the 22-year-old Harris, he went just 5-for-23 to open the season. However, he was of course nothing short of brilliant as a rookie, batting .297/.339/.514 with 19 homers and 20 steals in 114 games en route to the aforementioned Rookie of the Year honors. He went 1-for-7 with a pair of walks, three strikeouts and a stolen base in two Triple-A rehab games before this morning’s reinstatement from the injured list. Harris is in the first season of an eight-year, $72MM extension he signed last summer; the contract spans the 2023-30 seasons and contains club options for the 2031 and 2032 campaigns.

Solak, 28, has spent the past four seasons in the Rangers organization. Once regarded as a polished bat with a questionable defensive outlook, the former second-round pick hit .293/.393/.491 in 135 plate appearances as a rookie in 2019 but hasn’t found much success at the plate since.

Dating back to 2020, Solak is a .246/.317/.354 hitter in 839 trips to the plate. He’s spent the bulk of his time in the Majors at second base but also has experience in left field (324 innings), in center field (108 innings) and at third base (97 innings). Defensive metrics have panned his glovework at all four spots, however.

Solak may not have much big league success, but he has a sharp .289/.369/.503 batting line in parts of four Triple-A seasons, has played multiple infield and outfield positions, and has a minor league option remaining. That’s caused him to bounce around the league this year, as several clubs have picked him up since his original DFA with the Rangers in hopes of being able to pass him through waivers themselves, thus retaining Solak as a non-roster depth option in Triple-A.

Texas initially traded Solak to Cincinnati in exchange for cash back in November. When the Reds designated him for assignment in late March, the Mariners sent cash to the Reds to acquire Solak. Current outright waiver priority is still dependent on last year’s regular-season standings and, contrary to popular belief, is not league-specific. (That only applied to now-defunct August trade waivers.) As such, Solak falling to Atlanta means that the vast majority of the league passed on him, with only the Astros and Dodgers having lower priority than the Braves at present. Atlanta could well try to pass Solak through waivers in the coming days, but for now he’ll head to Gwinnett and hope to play his way into an opportunity on the big league roster.

Haseley, who celebrated his 27th birthday earlier this week, was taken 8th overall in the 2017 draft by the Phillies, but has failed to live up to that promise he showed as a prospect to this point in his career. In 355 plate appearances with Philadelphia, Haseley slashed just .264/.322/.373 before being traded to the White Sox ahead of the 2022 season. The outfielder only made it into 14 games with his new club in 2022, posting a 73 wRC+ in those games prior to being outrighted by Chicago during the offseason. With Alberto headed to the injured list, Haseley will now get another chance in the big leagues, where he will likely be the fourth outfielder on the roster, backing up Andrew Benintendi, Luis Robert Jr., and Oscar Colas.

Haseley will take the roster spot of Alberto, who is headed to the injured list without a timetable for his return. A veteran now playing in his 8th MLB season, Alberto has ever hit much in his career, posting a .271/.293/.380 line across 1406 plate appearances while only cracking 90 wRC+ once in his career, in 2019 with the Orioles. Still, the 30 year old remains a useful bench piece by virtue of his career strikeout rate of just 12.2% and his positional versatility; Alberto has played all four infield spots and the outfield corners in his career. With Alberto on the shelf, that should make more playing time available to fellow bench infielder Romy Gonzalez.

As for Solak, the utilityman spent the past four seasons as a member of the Rangers, slashing .252/.327/.372 (93 wRC+) in 974 plate appearances while playing primarily second base, though he’s also seen time at third base, left field, and even center field during his career. Solak was shipped from Texas to Cincinnati at the beginning of last offseason, and since then has bounced to the Mariners and the White Sox. Now, he figures to look to catch on with his fifth club in the past six months. That should be an attainable goal, considering the attractiveness of optionable infield depth.

Solak, 28, has bounced around the league quite a bit over the past six months or so. After spending four seasons with the Rangers, he was flipped to the Reds for cash considerations in November. He didn’t impress in spring and was designated for assignment on Opening Day. The Mariners acquired him at that time, with Solak being dealt for cash yet again. After a couple of weeks in the Mariners’ system, he was designated for assignment again and now lands with the Sox.

The fact that Solak is in a limbo zone where various teams are interested in his abilities yet he keeps losing his roster spot is a reflection of his uneven career so far. He debuted with the Rangers in 2019 by posting a .293/.393/.491 batting line and 126 wRC+ in 33 games. But he hit just .246/.317/.354 in the next three seasons for a wRC+ of 88. Despite those struggles at the big league level, he’s continued to flash promise in the minors, hitting .289/.368/.503 in Triple-A.

The White Sox will now be the latest team to give him a shot and see what happens. He still has an option remaining and will head to Charlotte for now. A second baseman earlier in his career, he was pushed into a corner outfield role when the Rangers signed Marcus Semien. It remains to be seen how the Sox deploy Solak for the Knights, but they do have a question mark at second base, as Tim Anderson’s injury has moved Elvis Andrus over to shortstop. That leaves utility players like Romy González, Hanser Alberto and Lenyn Sosa covering second, though Moncada’s injury means they’re needed at third base as well. The outfield corners are a bit more secure with Andrew Benintendi and Óscar Colás taking those spots on a regular basis.

Moncada has been dealing with the back issue for the past few days, having last started on Sunday. Just a few days ago, manager Pedro Grifol said it was possible that Moncada could be ready for action by this weekend, per James Fegan of The Athletic, but it seems the club will give him a bit of a breather to recuperate. He was off to a hot start, currently hitting .308/.325/.564, but that will now be put on pause. By backdating the IL placement, he could potentially be back in a week if he heals up as hoped. His roster spot will go to Jiménez, who is back after just a minimum stay on the IL. He was originally expected to miss about two or three weeks but has beaten that timeline slightly. Within days of going on the IL, he told Fegan that he was feeling much better and would have been available to pinch hit if were still active.

As for Foster, he started the season on the 15-day injured list with a right flexor strain. It’s unclear what his timeline for return is, but he will now be ineligible until late May. The 60-day count goes from his initial IL placement and not today’s transfer.

Solak, 28, has spent the past four seasons with the Rangers. He had a strong major league debut in 2019, hitting five home runs in 33 games, leading to a .293/.393/.491 batting line and 126 wRC+. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to carry that over, having hit just 16 homers in 220 games over the past three seasons and slashing .246/.317/.354 for a wRC+ of 88.

Early in the offseason, the Rangers flipped him to the Reds for cash considerations. Solak didn’t perform well in Spring Training with his new club and was designated for assignment on Opening Day. He was once again traded for cash considerations, this time going to the Mariners. He’s was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma and has appeared in four games for the Rainiers but has just a .077/.294/.077 to show for it. That’s obviously a tiny sample size but it doesn’t help a guy whose stock has been falling in recent years. In addition to his offensive struggles, his second base defense wasn’t well regarded either. When the Rangers signed Marcus Semien to take over the keystone, Solak got pushed into a corner outfield role. Since the offensive expectations are higher for a corner outfielder than a second baseman, that’s only magnified his struggles at the plate.

The Mariners will now have one week to trade Solak or pass him through waivers. Despite his big league struggles, he’s continued performing well in the minors, this year’s small sample aside. From 2019 through to the present, he has a .289/.368/.503 batting line for a 117 wRC+ in 198 Triple-A games. He still has one option year left, meaning that any acquiring club could keep him down on the farm if they’re willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.

As for Rodríguez, 27, he has a small bit of major league experience already. He got into 10 contests as an Angel in 2019 and 2020, posting a 2.53 ERA over 21 1/3 innings. That impressive ERA  wasn’t sustainable, given his .226 batting average on balls in play and 100% strand rate in that small sample. He was outrighted off their roster in August of 2020 and has been pitching in the minors over the past few years. In Triple-A with the Mets last year, he tossed 76 1/3 innings over 11 starts and 18 relief appearances, posting a 4.95 ERA in that time. Signed by the Mariners to a minor league deal this winter, he has a couple of scoreless appearances for the Rainiers this year and will give the big league club a fresh arm. He still has options and can be sent back to Tacoma in the future without being exposed to waivers.

Solak never played a regular season game as a Red. Cincinnati acquired the right-handed hitter from the Rangers at the beginning of the offseason. It was a cash transaction that saw the Reds add a player who was a few years removed from being a well-regarded prospect. Cincinnati gave Solak a look as part of a wide-open outfield mix in Spring Training, but he collected just two hits in 20 at-bats.

That lackluster exhibition showing pushed Solak down the outfield depth chart. Cincinnati designated him for assignment yesterday as they set their Opening Day roster, clearing a 40-man spot to add a pair of relievers and infielder Jason Vosler to the big league group. Solak’s stay in DFA limbo lasted only a little more than 24 hours, as Seattle stepped in to jump the waiver order.

A second-round pick of the Yankees in 2016, Solak has now been a part of five different organizations as a professional. He’s only ever played in an MLB game with Texas, tallying 974 plate appearances as a Ranger between 2019-22. Solak broke into the majors with an impressive .293/.393/.491 showing over 33 contests as a rookie, showing the offensive promise which prospect evaluators had long noted.

The Louisville product hasn’t managed to build off that strong debut. He’s been a below-average hitter in each of the three seasons since then, combining for a .246/.317/.354 line in 839 plate appearances dating back to 2020. He’s shown decent contact skills but not drawn many walks or hit for a significant amount of power.

That tepid offense has come as Solak has increasingly moved down the defensive spectrum. Drafted as a second baseman, he’s long been regarded by scouts as a below-average defender there. Defensive Runs Saved graded him six runs worse than par in a little more than 1000 innings in 2021. Texas pushed him to left field with the Marcus Semien signing in 2022.

In spite of his lackluster big league showings of late, the 28-year-0ld has continued to perform well in the minors. He spent most of last season with the Rangers’ top affiliate in Round Rock, where he hit .278/.371/.489 with 10 longballs, a strong 11.6% walk rate and a 19.7% strikeout percentage over 57 games. He’s now a .293/.370/.510 hitter over parts of three Triple-A campaigns.

Solak has one minor league option year remaining. The M’s can keep him in Tacoma as needed for the rest of this season if he holds a spot on the 40-man roster. He adds a right-handed bat who could potentially join Sam Haggerty and, when healthy, Dylan Moore as complements to Kolten Wong at second base. Seattle also has a left field platoon of Jarred Kelenic and AJ Pollock, with Solak stepping in behind them and Cooper Hummel in that regard.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Solak, 28, was once a highly-touted prospect who had a strong debut with the Rangers in 2019. He hit .293/.393/.491 that year in 33 games but has struggled since and now carries a career batting line of .252/.327/.372. That amounts to a wRC+ of 93, indicating he’s been about 7% below league average. Concerns about his second base defense also pushed him into the outfield corners, putting more pressure on his bat to provide value. He was traded to the Reds in November but had a rough spring, getting just two hits in 24 plate appearances. Despite his rough showing of late, he might get a shot elsewhere based on his prospect pedigree. He also still has an option remaining and can be stashed in the minors by any team willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.

Young, 29, spent most of last year with the Giants, posting a 2.36 ERA over 25 appearances with an 18.1% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 54.2% ground ball rate. Despite that solid campaign, he was non-tendered at season’s end and landed a minor league deal with the Reds. He’ll give the club a second lefty in the bullpen alongside Reiver Sanmartin. The right-handed Law will also join that bullpen, which was reported earlier this week.

Vosler, 29, got into 77 games with the Giants over the past two seasons, hitting .228/.306/.421 for a wRC+ of 100. Like Young, he was also non-tendered by the Giants and got a minor league deal from the Reds. He’s played all four infield positions in his career, as well as the outfield corners, giving Cincinnati a versatile player to plug in around their younger players as needed.

Turning to the IL placements, none of them are particularly surprising. Dunn has a shoulder injury that will keep him out of action for a couple of months. Antone has a flexor strain in his forearm that may keep him out until the All-Star break. Votto is still recovering from last year’s shoulder surgery, Weaver is battling forearm discomfort, while Santillan and Sims are dealing with lingering back issues.

No area of the roster is more wide open than the outfield. Cincinnati has eight outfielders on their 40-man roster. Of that group, only offseason signee Wil Myers has a lengthy big league track record. Myers had some ups and downs as a member of the Padres, showcasing strong power potential at times but undercutting it with lofty strikeout totals at others. Signed to a one-year, $7.5MM deal, he’ll surely receive regular playing time either in the corner outfield or at first base. The franchise will hope he’ll hit well enough to draw some attention from contenders at the trade deadline.

Everyone else in the Cincinnati outfield is hoping to earn a consistent spot in the lineup. It’s a similar group to that of the rebuilding Athletics — one that has a glut of upper level options but very little in the way of established big league production.

Jake Fraley, 27, two minor league options remaining

Fraley is probably the favorite for regular reps among the group of unproven players. Acquired from the Mariners in last spring’s Eugenio Suarez/Jesse Winker deal, Fraley put up an impressive .259/.344/.468 line with 12 home runs over his first 247 plate appearances as a Red. Most of that work came in the season’s second half, as he lost a good portion of the beginning of the year to right knee issues.

The lefty-swinging Fraley also posted solid offensive marks in a limited role in Seattle the previous year. He carries a .235/.348/.419 line with 21 homers and 16 doubles in 145 games over the past couple seasons. He doesn’t hit the ball especially hard but makes contact at a decent clip and has an extremely patient offensive approach. Fraley has limited experience in center and right field (rating poorly at both stops); he’s gotten solid reviews from public defensive metrics for his left field glovework.

Nick Senzel, 27, three options remaining

A former #2 overall pick, Senzel was a consensus top prospect before reaching the majors in 2019. He hasn’t met those expectations thus far, struggling to a .240/.303/.360 line in 1036 career plate appearances. A natural third baseman, Senzel moved primarily to center field at the MLB level and has gotten middling to well below-average reviews for his glove from various metrics.

Senzel has shown above-average contact skills at the big league level, though he hasn’t made much of a power impact. Despite his early-career struggles, the Reds have maintained throughout the offseason they plan to give him another crack at seizing the center field job. It feels like a make-or-break season, with Senzel now into his arbitration seasons and having performed below replacement level thus far.

The Reds are obviously still hopeful he can take a long-awaited step forward. He’ll first need to get healthy. Senzel underwent surgery to repair a fractured toe over the offseason. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote this afternoon that he’s begun swinging a bat in simulated games at the team’s spring complex. He has yet to progress to full speed running.

TJ Friedl, 27, two options remaining

Friedl has been one of the more interesting outfielders in the Cincinnati farm system for a few seasons. He got a brief big league look late in 2021 and received his first extended action last season. In 258 plate appearances across 72 games, he hit at a league average clip: .240/.314/.436 with eight home runs, a modest 7.8% walk percentage and a tiny 15.5% strikeout rate.

The left-handed hitter had more resounding success over a similar stretch of time for Triple-A Louisville. Friedl posted a .278/.371/.468 line with eight homers, an 11.6% walk rate and a 19.9% strikeout percentage over 241 trips with the Bats. That mostly aligns with his longstanding prospect reputation. Friedl doesn’t have much power but he has a solid feel for the strike zone and puts the ball in play with regularity. He can play all three outfield positions, though advanced metrics weren’t enthused with his first MLB work on the grass. Friedl has typically been regarded by prospect evaluators as a high-probability fourth/fifth outfielder. The upcoming campaign could be his best opportunity to outperform that expectation.

Will Benson, 24, three options remaining

Benson, acquired from the Guardians last month, has a polar opposite approach from Friedl. He’s also a left-handed batter but boasts huge power upside with a long track record of lofty strikeout totals. A former first-round draftee whose prospect shine had dimmed, Benson put himself back on the map with arguably a career-best season last year.

In 89 games with Cleveland’s top minor league affiliate, he hit .278/.426/.522 with 17 home runs. Benson walked a massive 18.7% clip — par for the course throughout his career — and struck out in an average 22.7% of his trips. It was the first time he’d posted a strikeout rate below 28% at any stop and only his second season fanning in fewer than 30% of his PA’s. Benson didn’t produce in a 28-game MLB cameo and was still buried on Cleveland’s outfield depth chart, but his step forward intrigued the Reds enough to take a look. He’s best suited for right field and can cover center on occasion.

Nick Solak, 28, one option remaining

Another one-time top prospect, Solak has had some inconsistent performances the past few years with the Rangers. He had an excellent 33-game debut in 2019. Since the start of 2020, however, the righty-swinging Solak carries a modest .246/.317/.354 line in 839 MLB plate appearances. Longstanding concerns about his defense at second base eventually pushed him to left field, where he has gotten subpar grades from public statistics.

To his credit, Solak hasn’t allowed his MLB inconsistency to bleed into his performance in the minor leagues. Optioned to Triple-A by Texas last season, he put up an impressive .278/.371/.489 mark with 10 longballs, an 11.6% walk rate and a 19.7% strikeout percentage in 57 contests. The Rangers never seemed to trust him enough to give him an extended look despite woeful MLB production from their left fielders, though. Texas dealt him to Cincinnati for cash immediately after the season ended.

Michael Siani, 23, three options remaining

A former fourth-round pick, Siani has spent the past few seasons ranked among the middle tiers of the Cincinnati farm system. Praised for his speed and defensive acumen in center field, he went 49 for 61 as a basestealer over 121 Double-A games last year. His overall .252/.351/.404 line with 12 home runs at that level was solid if unexceptional for a 22-year-old. Siani earned cups of coffee in both Louisville and Cincinnati towards the end of the season.

It stands to reason Cincinnati will start Siani back in Triple-A given his lack of experience there. Baseball America ranked him the organization’s #19 prospect this winter, projecting him as a glove-first fourth outfielder.

Stuart Fairchild, 26, one option remaining

A former Cincinnati second-round pick, Fairchild was dealt to the Diamondbacks at the 2020 trade deadline. He made his MLB debut with Arizona the following season, getting into 12 games. The Wake Forest product bounced around via minor trade and waivers last year, playing in four different organizations. He finished the season back with his original club when the Reds nabbed him off waivers from the Giants in June.

Fairchild played in 38 games for Cincinnati, connecting on five home runs in 99 trips. He struck out 29 times while drawing only eight walks but showed intriguing power. That was also the case in Triple-A, where he combined for a .258/.353/.490 line in 53 contests despite the constant uniform changes. He’s capable of playing all three outfield positions.

Chad Pinder, 30, not on 40-man roster

Pinder, a longtime member of the Athletics, signed a non-roster pact with a major league Spring Training invitation this winter. He’s coming off a .235/.263/.385 showing in 111 games for Oakland. The right-handed hitting Pinder has some power and a decent track record of hitting lefty pitching. He’s versatile enough to cover anywhere on the infield in addition to his corner outfield work. Pinder seems to have a strong chance at securing a bench role given that flexibility and Cincinnati’s fairly left-handed outfield mix. As a major league free agent who signed a minor league contract, he’ll have an automatic opt-out opportunity five days before the start of the regular season if he’s not added to the MLB roster.

Overall

Aside from Pinder, former highly-regarded prospect Allan Cerda and KBO veteran Henry Ramos are also in camp on non-roster contracts. Neither looks to have a strong chance at cracking the Opening Day roster considering the number of alternative outfield options for the front office and coaching staff to evaluate.

Myers is the only member of the current group who can’t be sent to the minor leagues, although Pinder couldn’t be optioned if he cracks the MLB roster. That could set the stage for plenty of shuffling over the next six months. The organization is surely hoping two or three players from the group will cement themselves as everyday options based on their 2023 production, lending some clarity to the longer-term mix.

Solak, 28, in January, was a second round pick of the Yankees in 2016 but was traded to the Rays as part of the 2018 three-team deal that saw the Yanks get Brandon Drury and the Diamondbacks get Steven Souza Jr. In July of 2019, the Rays flipped him to Texas for Pete Fairbanks.

After that second trade, Solak made his MLB debut with the Rangers, getting into 33 games down the stretch in 2019. It could hardly have gone much better, as Solak hit .293/.393/.491 in that stretch for a wRC+ of 126. He played second and third base in that time, giving the Rangers an exciting option for the infield.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to maintain those results since then. Over 2020 and 2021, he hit .250/.318/.357 for a wRC+ of just 88. He also struggled defensively and got pushed into a corner outfield role, putting more pressure on him to provide value offensively. He was optioned on and off the team throughout 2022, only getting into 35 big league games and not hitting too much when in the lineup. He finished the season on the IL due to a foot fracture and needed to be reinstated since the IL goes away today and doesn’t come back until Spring Training. Instead of adding him back to the roster, the club has swung a deal and sent him to Cincinnati.

For the Reds, there’s little harm in taking a shot on a bounceback. They’ve been stripping the roster down for the past couple of years and aren’t likely to be competitive here in 2023. Although Solak has struggled at the big league level in the past few years, he’s still performed well in Triple-A. In 2022, that led to a batting line of .278/.371/.489 and a wRC+ of 114.

The Reds have some other outfield options, such as Nick Senzel, TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley and Aristides Aquino, though none of them are really set in stone. Solak still has one option year remaining, which means the Reds don’t even need to commit an active roster spot for him. If he can get his bat back on track, he still has years of arbitration control remaining.