Jorge Soler is headed back to Atlanta. The Braves reacquired both Soler and reliever Luke Jackson from the Giants on Monday night in what amounts to a salary dump for San Francisco. The Giants acquire minor league infielder Sabin Ceballos and take on the salary for injured reliever Tyler Matzek. Atlanta designated Darius Vines for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.
Atlanta is looking to recreate the magic of their 2021 deadline. The Braves brought in Soler and Eddie Rosario that summer to address an outfield that had lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending ACL tear. Those outfield acquisitions drove Atlanta’s run to a championship, with Soler snagging World Series MVP honors behind a three-homer performance in the Fall Classic.
The Braves unfortunately lost Acuña to another ACL tear in late May, leaving them shorthanded in the outfield as the deadline approached. They already took a flier on Rosario, signing him after he was released by the Nationals. That hasn’t worked thus far, as Rosario is hitting .164/.186/.345 in 16 games.
Soler should step into everyday playing time in right field. Adam Duvall has gotten the bulk of the work there since the Acuña injury, but he’s hitting only .188/.251/.336 over 295 plate appearances. Atlanta signed Duvall to work as a short side platoon bat alongside Jarred Kelenic in left field. Duvall has continued to hit left-handed pitching (.261/.361/.533 in 108 plate appearances), but he owns a dismal .153/.190/.239 line while striking out a third of the time against righties.
Duvall can now return to the more limited role which the Braves had envisioned him playing. Kelenic has been pressed mainly into center field action since Michael Harris II went down with a hamstring strain. Once Harris is ready to return, that’ll push Kelenic back to left field.
It’s an abrupt end to what proved a very brief stint for Soler in the Bay Area. The Giants signed him to a three-year, $42MM deal at the start of Spring Training. His tenure started inauspiciously, as he didn’t hit well for two months and missed some time with a minor shoulder strain. The Cuban-born slugger has been on a tear since the calendar flipped to June, hitting .280/.374/.486 over his most recent 204 plate appearances.
Thanks to his cold start, Soler’s season line is still below his typical level. He owns a .240/.330/.419 slash with 12 homers across 392 trips. His 11.2% walk percentage and 24.7% strikeout rate are in line with his normal marks, but Soler’s power output is down from last year’s 36-homer pace. While some of that is surely attributable to the challenge of hitting at Oracle Park, his batted ball metrics have also dropped. Soler’s average exit velocity is down a tick, while his 39.9% hard contact rate is eight percentage points below last year’s figure.
That’s probably part of the Giants’ rationale in getting out from under the contract within a few months of signing it. Atlanta desperately needed to inject some life into an offense that has hit .227/.281/.417 in July. The Braves have hovered around .500 for the better part of three months and have dropped back to the pack in the NL Wild Card race. At 56-49, they’re narrowly in possession of the top Wild Card spot. Only one and a half games separate them from the Diamondbacks, the top non-playoff team at the moment.
While the Braves are clearly reacquiring Soler for his bat, they’ll need to count on him to hold his own defensively. Soler didn’t play a single inning on defense for the Giants. He only made 31 starts in right field (compared to 102 at DH) last year with the Marlins. Marcell Ozuna has the designated hitter spot secured in Atlanta, so the Braves will trust Soler to play more or less every day in the field. Ozuna’s contract contains a $16MM club option for next season, which the Braves probably anticipate exercising. With Soler signed through 2026, they’d have a lot of defensively-limited hitters at that point. That’s a risk they’re prepared to take for the short-term lineup boost.
Atlanta’s “run it back” ethos doesn’t stop with Soler. Jackson was also a member of their ’21 World Series winner. The right-hander had the best year of his career that season, working to a 1.98 ERA across 63 2/3 innings. Jackson’s elbow blew out the next year, sending him for Tommy John surgery that seemed as if it’d end his Braves tenure. He hit free agency during the 2022-23 offseason and landed in San Francisco on a two-year, $11.5MM guarantee.
Jackson spent the first half of last season finishing his Tommy John rehab. He returned to throw 33 1/3 frames of 2.97 ERA ball down the stretch. Jackson quickly landed on the shelf with a lower back strain and hasn’t managed the same caliber of production since returning in late April. He’s carrying a 5.40 earned run average over 35 innings. His 21.9% strikeout percentage and 9.9% walk rate are each slightly worse than average, though he’s getting ground-balls at a strong 51% clip.
The 32-year-old (33 in August) has looked much sharper of late. Jackson is running a 13:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with three runs allowed in nine innings this month. The velocity on his slider and four-seam fastball are each in line with his career marks. The Braves can plug him into middle relief with the possibility for higher-leverage work alongside Joe Jiménez, Pierce Johnson and A.J. Minter if Jackson’s recent form kicks off a strong second half.
Atlanta is taking on a substantial amount of money for these reunions. There’s no cash changing hands, although Matzek’s inclusion in the deal provides a small financial counterbalance. He’s in the second season of a two-year, $3.1MM contract that has mostly been ruined by elbow problems. Matzek missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He made 11 appearances early this season, allowing 11 runs in 10 innings, before going back on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Matzek remains on the 60-day IL with no clear return timetable. His deal contains a $5.5MM team option for next season that is sure to be declined.
The Giants paid Soler a $9MM signing bonus. He’s playing this season on a $7MM salary, around $2.3MM of which is still owed. Atlanta is taking on matching $13MM salaries covering the 2025-26 seasons. Jackson is making $6.5MM this year (roughly $2.1MM remaining) and is guaranteed at least a $2MM buyout on a $7MM option for next year. Matzek is due around $620K through season’s end. The Braves assume nearly $3.8MM in salary commitments for the stretch run plus the $28MM in future guarantees on Soler’s and Jackson’s deals.
RosterResource calculates Atlanta’s CBT number around $282MM. That pushes them past the $277MM third tier of penalization and positions their first-round pick in next year’s draft to drop 10 spots. Atlanta is a second-time payor, so they’re taxed at a 62% rate on spending up to the $297MM mark. The Giants shave nearly $7MM off their tax ledger and have an estimated $244MM mark at RosterResource. They’re still above the $237MM base threshold and may not be looking to drop any more money.
San Francisco also grabs a prospect in the deal. Ceballos, 21, was Atlanta’s third-round pick out of Oregon last year. A righty-hitting third baseman, he has a .259/.353/.354 slash with a 9.8% walk rate and 19.1% strikeout percentage in High-A this season. Baseball America ranked him as the #26 prospect in a weak Atlanta farm system, crediting him with a plus arm and some raw power upside.
As for Vines, he’ll either be traded tomorrow or (more likely) placed on waivers this week. The 26-year-old righty has made eight big league appearances, turning in a 5.45 ERA over 33 innings. He owns a 5.14 earned run average across 14 starts with Triple-A Gwinnett this season.
Mike Rodriguez first reported the Giants were trading Soler to the Braves. Robert Murray of FanSided was first to report Jackson’s inclusion. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Braves were assuming the entire contract.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Wow Farhan finally deals in reality
Hallelujah! Good for the Giants. Perhaps good for the Braves.
Awwwww snap
And Luke Jackson?! They’re getting the band back together
No Matzek though. Sad times
If matzek keeps doing bad and gets dfa’d AA will bring him back in time for October
Gotta believe the Giants are eating some money here. We will see.
Rumor is they are sending $3 million per year to the Braves for Soler.
Soler power comes cheap.
Where’s a total eclipse when you need one?
Ask Bonnie Tyler.
Turn around,bright eyes
The Braves season has a new theme song…..no single line sums it better than ‘Every now and then I fall apart.’
Nope, no cash involved, Braves eating it all.
Combined Jackson and Soler are making $20m this year and Soler is $14m against the CBT each of the next two years.
Looks like AA is putting all of his chips into 2024. Can’t figure out how he’s going to bridge until Strider returns without Fried and Morton.
@Atloriolesfan: Sale, Lopez, Schwellenbach w/some combo of AJSS, Waldrup, Lucas Braun, Drue Hackenberg, Bryce Elder, Ian Anderson, Huascar Ynoa, Blake Burkhalter filling out the 4/5th rotation spots. The ST losers are depth/development starters at AAA Gwinnett. Grant Holmes might keep getting starts after his excellent 5 inning stint in Milwaukee tonight. Braves have plenty of near ready kids. AA will probably surprise w/a vet signing/trade this winter too.
That’s the only answer. A variation on this year and it might work and might be a nightmare. I’m just surprised they were willing to take the draft choice hit. As more of an Os fan, it’s good news, with a fourth team probably dropping behind the Os 3. 4 or 5 earlier picks in the next draft.
Probably doesnt matter too much. Fried will net them an additioal comp pick. So dropping back 10 spots isnt that painful.
No, no money moving.
A+ salary dump for Giants
You should probably see if the Giants are eating money on this beforehand. Not saying they are, but the details aren’t out yet.
I don’t care if they pay his entire salary for better return. A+ to get out of this contract.
They got out of the contract and the Braves sent a guy who was their 3rd round draft choice! But Soler broke in as a CF and Ozuna’s the DH, so this should be tons of fun to watch.
There has to be another shoe to drop. It’s not conceivable that they’re going to use a Soler/Kelenic/Duvall OF for even one day, let alone until Harris gets back.
Braves probably aren’t done but AA is fine with that outfield if not. Guy knows what he is doing.
Sabin is no loss. I watched him play often in High A. A bust. I hope he does much better with the Giants
@Atloriolesfan: Soler’s a butcher in the outfield. He’ll be the r’fer. Ozuna has no arm, hasn’t played an outfield inning this season. Still won’t. He takes grounders at 1B in infield work.
Certainly they could. This will allow them to bench Duvall vs RHP’s which will be helpful. And they can bench Rosario vs LHP’s, again helpful. Rosarios really isn’t hitting either arm well, but he will likely get on a little streak against righties at some point .. maybe.
Not a bad trade for either team, though I think SF getting out of the money is a bigger win. However, if the Braves are still going to go for it, this is a nice little pickup and they can possibly move off of it in the offseason (or maybe Kelenic).
Bob Nightengale
@BNightengale
Correction: Atlanta is taking on the contract so they are paying $13 million in 2025 and 2026.
Huge sell high for my Gigantes de San Francisco. Soler in a Braves jersey isn’t something I thought I’d ever see (I was in a coma from July 29, 2021 to November 3, 2021)
Did your boyfriend stream “Girlfriend in a Coma” while that was going on?
Great song. Yaz forever.
Smiths actually
omg yaz? and to think i thought it was iconic morrissey track from an underrated smiths album. was a freshman at UF when that came out sigh. good times
I’m a guy but thanks for thinking I’d be in a relationship I really appreciate you believing in me
Nah but he did read some Doug Coupland
If I were a Giants fan I would get my pitchfork. Really insane return is needed to save Farhan’s job imo.
He would be doing great to get out of the contract.
Talk about over reacting
He’s been one of the worst executives in all of MLB. He has a loyal fan base, a massive market, unlimited money and continues to make awful deals after awful deal. Then he has multiple years where he should rebuild at the deadline and he holds aging vets. SF has got to get rid of him this offseason.
No hitter wants to play there.
This, absolutely. No useful FA hitter in their prime will ever willingly choose San Fran. Meanwhile, SF knows they can take middling vets and turn them into useful starters in that park, so they don’t have to pay for big name frontline starters. They keep saving big money for the hitter that will never come.
They should be drafting 100% bats and just filling in the arms from the castoffs of other teams. REally the same for the Dodgers, but they have so much money they don’t care about CB taxes and just spend on everything. Not hating on it, just being realistic in that false cap is a joke to the rich teams with willing owners.
Yeah, he sucks, I don’t get it. Finally got a decent enough signing with Chapman but goes for the quantity over quality approach and pretty much just gets useless hitters every year. And every pitcher they sign he gives them one year opt outs so he can’t even trade them or keep them around long term. Very overhyped. They spend a lot of money but you can’t really tell looking at their team.
Batters are happy to play in any park where they are offered a big, competitive salary, and where the team has a chance to contend. You don’t see many hitters specifically choosing Coors Field over Dodger Stadium. (Rockies have great fans, but I think most will agree they have not been contenders for a while)
IF no money changed hands, ATL breached the next CBT penalty level. Additional penalties, both draft choice and money. ATL may need an offsetting salary dump to another team.
Double checked. It may be that ATL ducked the next level by a couple million, at least as of now. But Soler is probably it for their deadline deals.
From reports I think you were correct the first time, but really, dropping 10 spots in the MLB draft isn’t like doing it in any other sport. It’s a deterrent, but not a deal breaker.
Loyal fan base, ROTFLMFAO…he is a joke and hopefully on his way out…
Has farhan made any A+ deals besides the 2021 season? Has he made any A+ deals ever?
Hahahahaha what? Please explain why dealing soler is where you draw the line with bringing out your pitchfork?
Of all the moves farhan has made, this would be one of his best. Definitely a top 5.
Funny enough, i was just talking about this with my son yesterday that it would be great if giants could find someone to take soler off their hands and then right after that, make a play on rooker from the A’s
This is textbook Farhan Derangement Syndrome, or FDS. Very common this season.
If one of your top 5 moves as a GM is getting out of a 3 year deal less than a year after it was signed you are a terrible GM.
Come on man.
His best deal was dumping Melancon salary on the braves. He’s a one trick pony I guess.
You understand that no one wants to play there and they have to overpay to get guys?
I think that narrative is overblown. There may be some but ultimately California is a beautiful place for baseball, the taxes suck but then taxes are based on where the games are played and are only slightly better playing for say AZ or CO teams and worse playing for Seattle or Toronto.. I don’t see guys lining up to sign with the rays or Marlins so I don’t think that plays the role a lot of folks think. I wouldn’t live in SF myself but, I don’t have tens of millions and I do live 60 miles outside SF and commute to work there and I like where I live just fine. I think they don’t want to play because the culture FZ has created, so he can’t really rely on that as an excuse.
That deal worked out pretty well for the Braves at least. He caught 2 game winning homers in the 2020 nlcs while warming up. Plus he was out closer for a couple years
It has nothing to do with California, I live there. It’s the cold as weather. It’s not the place a hitter is going to go to put up big numbers. Judge is from there and he didn’t even give them a look. Two years ago the struck out on all the SS who were FAs. It’s not good for big bats.
he was great for ATL until he suddenly wasn’t and then it was comically bad. tipping pitches or something i dunno, was like night and day first year to second
Soler is an overpaid DH. They won’t get anything. Year 6 and the Giants are barley better than 2019 under Farhan
Not at all, we watched Soler leave man after man on base. Plus Sabin Ceballos might be an interesting player.
This argument never works for me. Every team has a negative. The city, the stadium, the pressure, the media, the team’s budget, etc. you think less people want to play in SF than STL or KC? STL is a horrible city in a worse state and still they sign massive talent. Money talks and SF has it. Players loved SF in the previous regime. This is all about Farhan and lack of confidence he’ll build a winner.
@StreakingBlue: Absolutely laughable take
What an odd trade
Odder than Aaron Bummer for six guys?
I still don’t get that one. So the Braves get a pitcher who had an ERA at almost 7 and who also cost a few million and in return, they give up some worthwhile depth pieces like Soroka and Shuster? Were they that high on Bummer?
@King23: What’s not to get? The Braves traded players they had no intention of tendering contracts for a useful reliever. Shuster was moved to make room for arms they valued more highly. Sorka wasn’t going to be in the mix for a rotation spot, and w/out an option he had to go. Real logjam of rotation arms at AAA and AA for Atlanta. None of the others had mil options. The only depth piece they should have kept, imo, was Nicky Lopez but they didn’t want to pay him the $4.5 M to be a likely little used utility if’er. Bullpen era means nothing. Bummer has been quite good w/strong underlying numbers
Soroka is 0-10 with a 5+ era not sure how useful that is
Very well detailed. It was a roster crunch move for the Braves. They will need another one this offseason if not sooner. Since they appear to still be fighting this year, they might as well send the White Sox a bunch more for Crochet.
Two of three amongst Vines, Winans, and Dodd; along with Baldwin and McCabe. Heck, throw Bummer and Kerr in if you can.
All these comments are Atlanta casuals. The other funny thing is that Farhan is one of the GM of the year award winners – they won 107 games that year.
Bummer is a Bum
Look how all of those 5 players traded are fairing?….Ill save you some clicks…..its pretty bad.
Revisionist history. I’m looking at this from the point of view of when the trade happened.
They were guys the Braves didn’t want to be forced to keep on the 40 man. It was a yardsale.
He’s actually been hitting really well lately. Good riddance to Jackson though
I had to hold my breath every time he came to the plate…I think he started to pick up steam, but too many swing and misses with that outside slider. Just couldn’t lay off. Hopefully he works out for the Braves.
Braves will be happy with Jackson.
@TigersLoveCinnamon
I know Giants fans love to hate Luke with a passion. However, the times I watched him pitch with the Giants your fans hated on him when your infield was unable to do their jobs and make routine ground ball outs, and on one occasion a double play was booted, then thereafter he was dealing with runners on that should have been in the dugout and conceded runs. No one likes to lose games, but with Jackson the infield/outfield need to do their jobs as he induces plenty of ground balls and fly balls. I don’t believe Melvin used him all that well either.
I never hated Luke…he just couldn’t find his mojo after surgery. Sure there’s some errors that didn’t help him, but he was awful man. He would blow a lead all on his own. Long ball got him. I know his stuff plays lately, and hope we were able to get him stretched out for the Braves.
SMH wtf is AA doing???? Going for the lowest average hitting team in the league? Oh wait the most lowest batting players on one team in the league. Waste of prospects when you’re short 2 starters (3 counting Lopez injury and soon to be innings limit). Team isn’t going ANYWHERE the way it is built this year.
Lopez avoided an injury and will make his next start. Fried will be back by next home stand as well.
No one knows if either of those two things are true. How do you know?
@Lars: Lopez MRI came back clean. The Braves (Snitker) said they think he’ll make his next start. They also said that Fried’s likely to come off the IL on Friday.
While what you and Sky say could be true, the reality is ‘tightness in the forearm’ usually means there is internal stress being caused by something. The next bit of news when they take the mound is usually much worse. Maybe Lopez will avoid significant damage, but if I were betting money I would put it on a serious injury to follow soon. So even if they can’t limit innings due to how much he is needed now, I wouldn’t count on him making it through the year.
Not trying to be negative, just realistic.
Soler has a league average batting average and above average OPS+ this season. You need to live in the reality of MLB in 2024. Teams and players have pretty much stopped caring above BA and just want to slug.
You’re not too bright
Larry, Soler will actually improve the Braves batting average a considerable amount, and a low A middling prospect is nothing. Be more concerned about it limiting their ability to bring on more salary (such as a sign and deal for Crochet).
they’ll be in first place in two weeks. check out the schedules for phils and braves
Cue the ‘Welcome Back Kotter’ theme.
Nah, AA was in church yesterday when a ray of light shone on him:
“The band, THE BAND!”
Absolutely love the Blues Brothers reference!
I like this…Soler was a huge disappointment for the Giants. Didn’t he sign a 3 year deal?
16 million salaries in ‘25 & ‘26
I personally think Taylor Ward and Anderson were better fits for the Braves should of connected with the Angels and worked out a deal
Never know with AA. Still could happen
They don’t have the prospects to acquire those players. This was a salary dump.
They could easily get them.
Anderson alone would command a pretty good return so I don’t know but i think it’s a great fit
LOL. They absolutely have the prospects. The Angels aren’t really even close to contention though the fans might get their hopes up. They will end up taking a couple of middling prospects for both of those guys from someone. Sadly, it will likely not be Atlanta.
Never trust someone who uses the expression “should of”.
Agreed. One SHOULD NEVER use “should of”. Everyone, at least everyone with at least a 4th grade education, SHOULD know that the correct spelling for the contraction for the words SHOULD HAVE is actually SHOULD’VE. The reason I used 4th grade education as my reference was that my son, who is a 4th grader answered the question correctly.
I wonder how long it took you to get that paragraph down did you have your genius son look over it for proper grammar
You know they didn’t? I love how people say AA should’ve done this. AA should’ve done that and they don’t know the particulars. Maybe the asking price was too high. Ppl want Crochet but that guy has stated he will refuse to pitch for a team without getting an extension. Who wants that attitude?
He was amazing for the Braves before; organization knows him
Now the Braves just need to trade for Joc Pederson and it will be a repeat of 2021
Yung Joc and his pearls run one back!
Looks like Soler got hot at the right time for the Giants to sell high… but what kind of return do they get?
Thinking with soler and Lule Jackson coming back could be more of a salary dump
Jackson was pretty bad at times. Didn’t need him occupying a slot. Thought Soler would stick around. Not sure I like the return
Giants get a hurt pitcher that can’t stay healthy and a minor leader
Can’t stay healthy? only had one injury..TJ…and he just back from that. He’ll be better next year.
A blessing for the giants. Braves always take the giants garbage.
AA Just woke up and thinks it’s 2021
He’s in a similar situation, injuries and dimming record
Trade for Freddie but keep olson too lol . Nah jokes aside awesome that we got soler :). Maybe we get another surprise and we get the Pearls back :). OH yeah and we need Dansby
JUST IN…Atlanta close to acquiring Freddie Freeman
Great news! Zaidi finally does something. Regardless what Giants get in return from the Braves Soler & Jackson can easily be replaced by prospects.
I wouldn’t say easily replaced. Soler been excellent the last few weeks.
AA sure has a type
IT COMES FULL CIRCLE
When I joked about them acquiring Jorge after Rosario I had no idea it would actually happen
Luke Jackson too!!! Come on joc pederson you are the last guy!!!
Simply bringing back past players just tells me you’re lazy at scouting.
Pretty lazy comment.
So instead of acquiring better players who still may not be expensive, you’d rather trade for much worse guys because they played good for the team years ago? Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
Who else is out there that’s actually good that some team isn’t asking for all their minor league pitchers. You can’t trade for something that isn’t available.
It wasn’t a nostalgic trade, it was a trade that came cheap as far as talent given up.
I get from the outside it has a nostalgic feel. But Soler and Rosario are basically mercenary OFs at this point. Just dumb luck one was available to grab and the other cost little by way of talent to pick up his salary. With roster spot open and needs they had I get grabbing Rosario. As far as Soler, I really like the move. Adding a bat like his should add some protection and hopefully get some of other bats going a bit more.
Damn skippy. I am so glad the Braves moved Murphy out from behind the plate and into CF. It gives D’Arnaud more AB’s and will allow them to platoon Rosario and Duvall.
Giants are getting back LHP Tyler Matzek and INF Sabin Ceballos
Ad only Caballos looks interesting, but it will be a long time before we see him in MLB. This one is a thumbs up for Farhan.
Sabin is weak. I watched him play often in high A
Either Soler or Ozuna will have to play defense. We may be better off seeing if we could play with only 2 outfielders lol
According to Joel Sherman, Soler will bat leadoff, like he did in ’21 (without Acuña) and play RF where they believe he will be ‘adequate.’ Duvall’s play hasn’t been good, so low bar. It also effectively pushes Kelenic back down in the order, where hopefully his bat reawakens since he’s been on a skid in July batting leadoff. They need him in CF for time being (until Harris return).
Maybe we could just put a chair in LF for them.
Braves have WAY too many OF on the roster now.
AA still cooking…
And this report that a hot hitting 40 y/o Yuli Gurriel recently turned down a NPB offer to stay with the team only complicates things more, though he’s more of a 1B/DH option.
Where’s Joctober going to play
Deal makes zero sense for ATL.
They have no prospects worth any elite players. They’ll take salary dumps.
Braves can get anyone available.
Nearly anyone is available for the right price barring a NTC where player can be the extrinsic force.
Braves probably stuck dealing with teams near start of rebuilds tho who are willing to take a return of young raw prospects. I don’t see them making any major deals with teams like Reds or Tigers without moving parts from MLB roster.
Braves have some nice prospects just didn’t want t to give them up for a rental.
Where’s this price list of available elite players that are supposedly available? I haven’t seen it.
Wrong. I watch the Braves High A and Double A teams often. Several good prospects. Sabin was not one of them. No loss there. Hate to see Matzik go
It does when you think the other trade options were huge cost for trades. They took a big bat they know that had success in Atlanta brought him back. Took Jackson salary as to not have give anyone up
Soler played outfield before and batted lead off in Atlanta. With kelenic struggling Soler may be the lead off hitter again which makes the bottom of the line us factor again if they can get on
And the newly open Giants DH slot goes to?
Luciano
Agree, if not immediately, because he’s a stick. They could then work on his fielding at leisure while he gets used to the pace of the Big Show game.
Yep
Luciano
Heliot Ramos
No, ignoring a hiccup here and there, Heliot is a better-than-average CF.
Derek Hill better defensive choice.
Matos, Luciano, Fitzgerald all deserve at-bats to sort out who joins Ramos next year.
Th real question is whether Snell or Cobb will be dealt.
I actually like that the DH spot is open. Guys need rest without a day off. I think Flores benefits with more ABs less first base with his injury. Wisely at 2B Fitz at SS Ramos at CF til next year. Then he can play one of the corners or spell Lee. Soler was hitting much better but we could have had that DH production for the year from Flores
Encarnacion
I don’t think so, but it would be reasonable.
Tyler Matzek ((
So is Ozuna or Soler playing the field?
Soler. He’ll be the rf’er.
Soler was amazing for the Braves in 2021 he has 35 home runs last year. He is going for sure be a better right fielder than what the Braves have right now.
Everyone scratched their head when the Braves trade for Chris Sale; then they made Lopez a starter. Who know what happens maybe AA has a crystal ball.
Sounds like Braves may see Kelenick as a bench bat or platoon hitter for the time being. Have to see what we gave up but this team has so many holes that’s impossible to fix with our farm that AA is hoping a spark may fix it like last time. I agree with this 10000% if we didn’t give up anything substantial. Soler is not dhn so he needs to play good defense. Him, Harris and debatable 3rd outfielder. Call me crazy but RIGHT NOW I prefer laureano over kelenick. Kelenick is absolutely lost at the plate, but I don’t see the Braves not starting him.
Considering he let a fly ball get over his head, and forgot a guy was on third and let him tag and score when it would have been 50/50 play with a competitive throw. Tired of his dumb ass is my guess.
Bwahaha.
Don’t worry Matzek will be out on waivers and Braves will get him back let AA cooooook!!!
Think Soler starts in one of the corner outfields; Kelenic stays in centerfield and Duvall plays the other corner outfield. Than when Harris comes
back Duvall and Kelenic platoon.
Duvall’s made his last start vs RH pitching. Rosario, Kelenic, Soler start vs righties. Soler, Laureano, Duvall vs lefties.
Funny to see Farhan getting credit for dumping contracts he signed in the first place.
I do think it’s amazing the Giants didn’t take any money on. But he’s still a clown.
Classic Moneyball move. Make a big deal about signing a big name free agent and then dump him at the deadline. Just part of the churn.
I read “part of the chum”.
Jaws on all month.
If soler goes to Atlanta and kills the ball this “dump” may not look good
He loves hitting in that park. Hot weather guy.
Soler has been a huge disappointment to the Giants. I’m not shedding tears about this trade.
Including also the last couple weeks, I would say a slight disappointment but not a “huge” one.
No cash involved?? Nice dump FZ.
NICE DUMP
Giants fans cheer as FZ takes largest dump of the year!
I feel sorry for his toilet paper.
A for Atlanta and SF. Dump Soler and get a prospect! Braves get someone they know and know how to use for nice prospect with a ways to go and easily replaced. Teams have been overpaying left and right and all Atlanta had to do was take on $.
Sabin is not a big loss. Can’t hit in high A and makes a ton of errors. Plus third base is blocked on the big league team for years to come
Now the Braves are on the hook for 16 m a year for the next two years. What do they do with him when everyone comes back next year? Seems like a short sighted solution that will only make problems when they are actually healthy and legitimate contenders again.
Oh the contract was backloaded. Even better. What on earth were the Braves thinking???
I truly don’t get this for the Braves.
Legitimate contenders…from a Mets fan lol. I can promise you if the Braves sneak in this year there isn’t a team in the NL looking forward to facing Sale, Lopez, Fried…and you Mets fans know you can throw schwellenbach in there too. Harris will be back in a couple weeks and Ozzie before the playoffs. They are Legit contenders this year. As for next year, they will have months to figure that out. As they’ve seen this year you can never have too many good players. But it will either mean they have an OF of Acuna, Harris and Solar, pick up Ozunas option and Kelnic goes to the bench. Or they don’t pick up Ozuna’s option, Solar is the DH and the OF is Kelnic, Harris and Acuna. Pretty simple to figure out either way.
Do you think your a smarter person because your a brave fan? What a ridiculous comment. Hate to break the news to you but Fried and Lopez are hurt. The Lowly Mets caught 10 games on you in a little over a month. Harris re-injured himself the other day and is no where near a return. The Braves will be lucky to make the playoffs. Stop acting like it’s a giving because the way they have been playing they will be the team out.
It’s always funny to see someone make a comment about intelligence and then misuse you’re. “Do you think you’re* a smarter person”
lmao he was paying the Braves a compliment (they’re “legitimate contenders” next year already as constructed) and you still got offended and went on a screed. Newsflash: the Braves are 38-42 over the last three months. They’ve been crushed by injuries. You can bank on Harris (82 OPS+ prior to his injuries) and Ozzie (98 OPS+) but it’s not going to help if people keep slumping (Olson, Murphy, Arcia, Duval, Kelenic) and people keep getting injured (Lopez just got hurt, Sale is a ticking time bomb).
Lopez MRI came back clean. Braves said he will probably make his next start. Fried’s back on Friday. Sale’s healthy until he isn’t.
Braves can just trade him in off season; big bats are not that easy to find. This was all about 2 months and the other trade options price being very high.
Just about any team would be jumping for joy adding a 35 home run bat for basically nothing
Yea? How many does have to date?
Soler got his contract based on last years numbers when his OPS was about 100 points higher. And the deal was backloaded. This is incredibly dumb by the Braves.
Soler with a 116 OPS+ is already near the top for the Braves. Getting out of SF should surely help.
Party like it’s 2021 again. AA likes the home run hitters. Just need the rest of the lineup to get on base
Well um…soler is certainly capable of standing in a corner outfield spot. Braves outfield d gonna be rough till harris comes back.
Damn! That’s crazy.
The Giants rotation is stout, what they need are more hitters, so naturally they trade one away.
So I guess sellers now?
This might mean that Snell is available after all, and maybe Ray too.
Soler wasn’t a hitter. He was supposed to be, and a power one at that, but he was awful.
True. 18 pf next 23 games are against teams with losing records, so it would surprise me if the cash it in.
Not gonna miss that pocket hanging out.
Ops+ of 116 isn’t awful. He’s actually been very good the last 6/7 weeks
I’m guessing Ozuna won’t be back next season.
Where’s Joc ?
Ozuna option with the Braves is picked up for sure his season been great. If Acuña is back healthy for 2025 the Braves can just move soler and eat money if needed.
This trade was all about adding a big power bat for 2 months to try and get into the playoffs.
Soler turned out to be a terrible fit and I’m not sure there was any way the team or the player could have known this in advance. While you’d think his power could anywhere, right-center aka Triples Alley, got in his head and started trying to pull everything and made a mess of his swing. He got on a little hot streak to make his counting stats look ok but hard contact was rarely displayed.
Matzek hasn’t fully made his way back from 2023 TJ surgery, he’s got a $5M team option that easily gets picked if Matzek get’s healthy and back to his pre TJ performance.
I am not a FZ apologist, he knew taking this job that SFG ownership doesn’t do major rebuilds, certainly not a CWS type of tear down. But this is the sort of assertive deal that needs to happen. Still pissed he didn’t give Gausman that 5th year.
Giants definitely aren’t picking up Matzek’s option.
They have the optionality, they 100% were not picking up Jackson’s (and neither is ATL). A healthy Matzek is a quality power high leverage arm and there’s no such thing as a bad 1yr contract. Some guys take longer than others to get all the way back from TJ, this is a decision that doesn’t need to be made until after the postseason.
They have Erik Miller, Taylor Rogers and Reggie Crawford in Triple A. They have no need for Matzek.
Also Matzek is far from healthy and may never be the same.
Taylor Rogers’ usage this year shows he is now just a low leverage RP and if they could, they would trade him. I like Erik Miller a lot, good trade by FZ. Correct on July 29, Matzek isn’t healthy, however today is not the day they need to make a decision on his option. That will be after the conclusion of the season.
Do not take Reggie Crawford being in AAA as a sign of how close he is to joining the major league club. He’s in his 1st year back from TJ surgery and the Giants have been ultra cautious with him. So much so that he’s only thrown a total of 18 1/3 innings all year + hasn’t pitched since early June and is on the MiLB IL.
Crawford will be fully in the bullpen mix next season which is why I brought him up.
Right now Matzek isn’t a high leverage RP either. Atleast Rogers is fully healthy.
You likely don’t see the irony that you believe Crawford will fully be in the bullpen mix for 2025 and Matzek will not, yet both had TJ in 2023 and BOTH are on the IL right now.
*glances up at browser URL to make sure I’m not on Twitter*
There is no irony. Matzek is 10 years older than Crawford and has been hurt the majority of his career.
@sfjackcoke: They didn’t even make an offer to Gausman, let alone a 4 year offer.
It was there for SFG to match, Gausman preferred to stay in SF, FZ at the time was opposed to 5yr deals in principal. When a player in free agency essentially allows you to “match” as opposed to beat, you keep the talent. Especially THAT talent at a time when the SFG were made aware their generational talent,Posey, was retiring.
@sfjackcoke: That doesn’t change the fact that they never even made an offer to Gausman. Not to mention that we have no idea whether the Giants were given an opportunity to match the deal he got from Toronto.
I do agree that the Giants should have retained Gausman and likely could have done so for the same price or cheaper (especially if they extended him prior to free agency). Having said that, Gausman had lost the feel of his splitter in the back half of the ’21 season and was not looking like the same guy he was his first season and a half in SF.
Gausman was quoted as saying SF was where he wanted to be, TOR went 5yrs so what is FZ going to do offer 4yrs? Bottom line was to retain Gausman all he had to do was pay the market, not beat the market. For a team that has had a long storied history of being a bride’s maid on the free agent market it was mistake.
All free agent contracts come with risk and all you can hope is he learned his lesson as Snell for sure will require 5yrs and so too might Ray however with Ray maybe you give him the 5th year to bring down the AAV for the CBT. In Snell’s case that makes his deal 7yrs
Who didn’t see that coming? Let the dumping of the dead weight begin. Conforto and Flores hopefully to follow.
Sounds like they’re going to go with Luciano at DH also give Ramos some time there to rest his legs. Matzek is the new Jackson.
nbcsportsbayarea.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/jorg…
I can’t believe the Braves picked up the rest of Soler’s contract and sent out a prospect.
Exactly. If they wanted him that badly they could have just signed him last offseason and kept the prospect.
They didn’t want him last winter. They need an of bat now because of the Acuna and Harris II injuries. You know this.
Sabin the prospect is WEAK
I understand that the Braves desperately need Soler’s bat for this year. But what are they going to do with him next year when Acuna returns? He will be a rather expensive backup outfielder/DH.
And why trade for Jackson?
I admire how the Braves keep taking on payroll so they don’t have to deal away so many prospects. But this deal baffles me.
Braves got him for 2 years after this one. They need to cover for Acuna the rest of this year and at least part of next year. Unfortunately they need him or Ozuna to play defense and both are terrible. Perhaps the thinking is that Soler replaces Ozuna at DH next year or in 2026. They needed a good hitting infielder to replace Arcia, a couple of reliable if not flashy starting pitchers, and a decent fielding power bat. Well they got a power bat who can’t field and having a down year and not much else.
I think the success of Ramos and lately of Fitzgerald has SFG front office and ownership buying in on going young(er). I suspect they clear one of Yaz or Conforto before tomorrow. That will allow Matos to come up and play CF everyday.
Long term Ramos’ position is RF, Lee in CF however it’s good to know that Ramos can slide over. Without significant upgrades to 1st/DH a 2025 OF of Matos, Lee, Ramos might not have enough power. That said if Matos can establish himself, he becomes a legit trade chip all the more so with Ramos and Tyler Fitzgerald on the roster as CF capable players.
Speaking of, they need to sort of if Fitzgerald is truly an everyday guy and if so, where? Ideally anywhere up the middle allows his bat/speed to profile better, at first glance his arm seems light for SS but let’s see, maybe it’s just that Crawford has spoiled us with his arm all those years..
Luciano time is now, I don’t mind him taking regular ABs at DH if that keeps him healthy as he needs the developmental AB’s. They have the off-season to sort a position for him but while Estada is down, 2nd base seems logical.
That leaves Schmidt who has an MLB ready glove/arm but he needs to stay in Sac and play everyday to see if his bat can develop enough to wear he can stake a claim to the SS position.
A rotation of Snell, Ray, Webb, Harrison, Birdsong/Cobb has the ability to go on win streaks. They also have the ability to shorten up games and let the bullpen fall into more traditional roles with Hicks being another now high leverage arm at the back. They NEED to sort out WTF is going on with Doval.
I love the youth movement approach, and that core of pitching and fielding is welcomed. Lots of question marks on some guys playing well now but may not be long term everyday players. I’m thinking of guys like Fitzgerald, Birdsong, Schmidt, Luciano. I like Matos getting the everyday opportunity if we can move one of those veterans. Personally, I’d miss Yaz more than Conforto.
Moving Soler was disappointing. I thought he was a solid DH for the next few years while the youth movement takes place, maybe get us over 30 home runs in one season, finally. I get opening up DH gives more flexibility to have them on the ML roster, but to trade Soler just months after signing him is bad look for the front office.
Maybe we can take the money saved on Soler and Jackson and put it all in on keeping Chapman around.
Doval looks like a basket case this year. Didn’t we all get punched in the gut enough in ’16 to want to put up with that dude? Not to mention his lack of either hustle or awareness on the diamond. Pitchers are also fielders. He doesn’t seem to ‘get’ that. Traded now or not, he’s on a short leash.
By the way, methinks this Soler trade was in the works before he got hot this past weekend. The Gs likely needed to vet the two incoming guys before agreeing to the deal, which I also think was proferred by the Atlantas.
No need for SF to vet Matzek. He’s been on the 60 day IL w/shoulder soreness most of the season. Never really recovered from his TJS either. FB velocity averaged about 91-92 instead of his 97 plus. Doubt he throws a pitch for the Giants before they dfa him. Took him as a salary offset in the deal.
In the short term, for sure Matzek was there for $ purposes as ATL is over the CBT. That said, SFG holds an option on him for 2025, and an early July update said he was already throwing with an ETA of late August. He visited with his TJ doctor, the inflammation in his elbow was elsewhere and that his repaired UCL looked fantastic.
To activate him the Giants will need a 40 man spot, so if they do that means they liked what they saw in his rehab. If in September, he shows himself to be a 2022/pre TJ version of Matzek has his option picked up, if not, it’s not. Pre TJ Matzek + Erik Miller on the left side is NASTY.
Sounded like Soler didn’t want to leave the east coast in FA. Took some prying from players to get him to move. I’m not sure he really wanted to be there. Just never looked into it. Good luck to him. Probably a good outcome for everyone.
This is confirmation that Farhan is incompetent and that the San Francisco Giants should have fired him last year. Zaidi signed Soler. He’s the idiot that gave him a 3 year contract. And then 5 months later, Zaidi trades him in a salary dump. That just proves that was an awful transaction. Zaidi is nothing more than a Billy Beane disciple and Andrew Friedman’s water carrier.
@NotMathieuvanderPoel
Soler is 21 for his last 66, his average is around what it normally is, and his OPS and slug are a little down, but maybe that can be explained by some of the injuries he has had.
I hope Seitzer can do his magic with him again and get him line driving to right and into the alley at centre right, and now he’s back with Ozuna and his homies Albies and Arcia, he’ll fit right in and feel right at home, that can make a distinct difference with some players and have a big impact on their outlook and comfort level. I know for sure he’s going to feel right at home in a Braves uniform.
I agree with this fully. This move is covering what they view as a mistake free agent signing, just 5 months ago! That is a bad look and another embarrassing transaction for SF. Dump money and get Luciano at bats is the spin, but none of that makes Farhan look good in this deal.
Kelenic is 7 for his last 68. He’s only young so there’s time for him to learn. As far as I am concerned, and I know it won’t happen, but even with Ozuna’s poor arm I’d play him at left for the time being, Laureano at centre, and Soler at right. Bring up Gurriel to DH and see how he goes, he hit 2 home runs in one game the other day. His average is solid at AAA, his OBP .371, OPS .837 and slug .466 is pretty good, they’re right in line with his Houston numbers but he’s worth a go rather than leaving him to rot at AAA.. Kelenic can go to AAA for a while
People will say ‘Yuli is too old’. Julio was too, it didn’t stop him hitting.
Soler RF
Riley 3B
Ozuna LF
Olson 1B
Gurriel DH
Laureano CF
Murphy/TDA C
Nacho/Arcia 2ND
Arcia/Nacho SS
Sometimes you need to do something ‘unconventional’. I know it is right handed dominant, and I love left handed hitters, so maybe you can also use Rosario in there somewhere.
Looking for old magic but this isn’t a great move for the Braves and does not really address the many issues we have. We still need more to make this team competitive with all our injuries. Prob need a starter and definitely need a ss. And idk why we remotely got Luke Jackson here. Yes, kinda needed a righty in the bullpen, but he’s having a rough year
This trade just highlights how weak the Braves minor league system is, taking on money because they don’t want to trade their few decent prospects.
Let’s wait until the end of the day. Maybe they are trying to save those prospects for something else we have yet to learn about … but outside of that, yes, it is a very weak system right now.
Getting better though. BA moved them up from 25 to 16 in their latest after the draft rankings. Still very pitching heavy at the upper levels. W/the exception of Baldwin and Alvarez, most of the most interesting position players are recent draftees and ifa guys in the lowest levels.
Ozuna is a free agent after this year so you can at least slide Soler into the DH spot next year.
The Braves have a $16M option on Ozuna, and he’s a much better hitter than Soler. This trade doesn’t make much sense, unless there’s a part 2.
Didn’t realize Ozuna had an option. Soler will get hurt out there haha
Let’s hope this helps.
I wonder if AA is getting ready to trade Ozuna for a controllable pitcher.
Giants miss on free agency, again. Trading one of your top multi-year free agents halfway through his first season is a bad look. Maybe it was a bad deal, maybe Soler was a bad fit (he was coming along recently), maybe it is a lost season. No matter the excuse this is a sign of a dysfunctional front office with no clear direction in my view. For a team that seems to want to compete with other top competitive teams in the NL, this does them no favors.
And in my view, the excuse that this was a salary dump is weak. Why did you commit just a few months ago on that contract? The Braves took it on and will be in the playoffs again. This is not a good move by Farhan, at best it was fixing a bad move by the front office. Either way it is a loss.
As a fan, the salary dump excuse is all you got. No good return on prospects, just dumping money with hopes that all those off season high end free agents view SF as a premium spot to land.
I like the opportunity to see Luciano get DH at bats, I can get behind that, but why sign Soler to begin with?
SFG sign Soler thinking he’s a middle of the order power bat, a guy whose power plays in your park. SFG thought that, Soler certainly thought that else why come here, but turns out it didn’t. IMO Triples Alley got into Soler’s head, he became pull happy and in the process messed up his swing. SFG didn’t sign him to be their lead off hitter.
SFG pivoted, ATL took all Soler’s contract + Luke Jackson who might have been a DFA candidate and you free your DH spot back up and gain two 40 man spots.
You also got back ATL’s #13 prospect + a $5.5M option on Tyler Matzek. If Matzek can demonstrate in September he’s all the way back from 2023 TJ then his option is picked up and him and Erik Miller make for an awesome power left side of the pen.
Sabin Ceballos was Atlanta’s #25 prospect according to Battery Power site rankings. They do an excellent job w/inside knowledge and detailed scouting coverage of Braves prospects. Fangraphs had him at #14.
He was # 13 entering the year and you can’t trade this years draft class, so…… SMH at the “Twitter vibes” on MLBTR today, how about we call him ATL’s 2023 3rd round draft pick..
Just stated some facts regarding current views on Ceballos by some very qualified insiders on the Braves side. I didn’t insult your homer take on the Giants return. Wouldn’t know anything about what goes on at X. Sounds like you do though. So……………..
Soler is not bad, but is this the best that AA can do? So many starting pitchers were available and most for suprisingly low returns but the Braves got none of them, Can’t win with just 2 reliable starters and only one reliable hitter.
@Sadface
I am interested to know who you expected to get from all those “many starting pitchers” that were available, and who were you going to give up? Throw some names up.
As far as I am concerned, AA has done what he could, and he’s done a good job and gave up nothing. I prefer to see where the chips fall in 2024.