SAN FRANCISCO — As expected, the Giants traded one of the offseason’s biggest additions ahead of the MLB trade deadline, but the player they traded for was a bit of a surprise.
The Giants have reached a deal that will send designated hitter Jorge Soler and relief pitcher Luke Jackson to the Atlanta Braves, the team announced Monday night. In return, Atlanta will send minor league infielder Savin Ceballos and left-handed pitcher Tyler Matzek to San Francisco.
The move is both a way to get out of the bulk of the remaining term on Soler’s contract, as well as a way to free up at-bats for some young players, something the Giants value after a disappointing first four months.
Soler has looked good recently, reaching base 22 times in eight games last week, but his overall impact hasn’t been as great as the Giants hoped for when they signed him to a three-year, $42 million contract in February. Soler has a .749 OPS, a .419 slugging percentage and 12 home runs. The original plan was to use Soler, who hit 36 home runs with the Miami Marlins last year, as the No. 4 hitter, but he struggled with runners in scoring position, so that was changed.
Soler has had some success as a leadoff hitter and is second on the team in walks, but the Giants have at times felt hampered by having a full-time DH who hasn’t displayed the power expected of him. Soler, 32, is due $13 million in each of the next two seasons, but the Giants are no longer obligated to pay it.
A source said the plan is for the DH position to be used by multiple players for the rest of the year. One candidate could be Helio Ramos, who started 68 consecutive games before Saturday. The Giants want to ease the physical burden on Ramos, who is one of the team’s best hitters and also plays center field every day.
The team has also had internal discussions about promoting Marco Luciano, who took off at the plate in July but doesn’t seem to have a set spot at the moment. Luciano has alternated between shortstop and second base in Triple-A over the past month, hitting six home runs while maintaining similar strikeout-to-walk ratios. With Tyler Fitzgerald entrenched at shortstop, the Giants could, and probably will, move Luciano to second base and bat as a DH.
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