MLB Trade Deadline: Outfielder Jorge Soler traded from Giants to Braves

The Atlanta Braves pulled a surprise trade deadline move on Monday night, inking a deal to acquire former All-Star outfielder and World Series MVP Jorge Soler from the San Francisco Giants, a source confirmed to Yahoo Sports’ Russell Dorsey.

The Braves then confirmed the trade with the Giants in exchange for left-handed pitcher Tyler Matzek and minor league infielder Savin Ceballos. The Braves would also acquire former Braves pitcher Luke Jackson from San Francisco.

Atlanta previously acquired Soler in a trade with the Kansas City Royals at the 2021 deadline. He started 55 regular season games for the Braves that season and later helped them win the World Series, where he hit three home runs and had three game-winning RBIs as Atlanta defeated the Houston Astros and Soler was named World Series MVP.

After the World Series, Soler left Atlanta as a free agent and signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Miami Marlins. In 2023, he batted .250, .341, .512 with 36 home runs and 75 RBIs, earning him his first All-Star team. During the offseason, he declined the final year of his contract and signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Giants.

Jackson, a relief pitcher, was also a member of the 2021 World Series team. He has played the past two seasons with the Giants.

Soler and Jackson will rejoin the Braves as they look to beat off the remaining National League wild-card contenders and make another postseason bid.

The Braves will put their team back together, but will it work?

In 2021, Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL. The Braves added four outfielders, including Jorge Soler, at the trade deadline and won the World Series. This year, Acuña tore another ACL and the Braves… again, acquired Soler in a trade.

Asked by Yahoo Sports if looking back on 2021 has taught him anything about this season, Braves manager Brian Snitker said: “No, every year is different, so you can’t say, ‘OK, this is good.’ In 2021, we lost a guy. Really. We lost a big part of what we were doing this year. And I don’t think we can look back on 2021.” [2021] And I think it’s going to inevitably have the same outcome. I think we’ll just have to deal with this year, this year. Every year brings its own problems.”

And this year, Soler, who just signed a three-year contract with the Giants in February, will bring some nimble power and energy to Atlanta, but he’s not as familiar with the Braves as he was three summers ago. With slugger Marcell Ozuna entrenched as the designated hitter, Soler will have to play in the outfield every day. The big slugger hasn’t been on the field regularly since 2021, when advanced metrics rated him as one of the worst defenders in all of baseball. He’s now three years older, bigger, slower and more injured.

The move arguably makes Atlanta’s offense better than it was yesterday, but the defense is a clear step back. Jackson, who was also with the Braves in 2021, gives the bullpen another reliable and familiar option. Jake Mintz

Are the Giants really going to sell after spending so much money in free agency?

The trade could have even bigger implications for the Giants, who are on the fringe of the National League Wild Card race. San Francisco spent big over the winter on Soler, National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman. Unfortunately, those additions haven’t made the Giants clear championship contenders, and the emergence of All-Star outfielder Helios Ramos has made Soler less of a necessity than he may have seemed four months ago.

It remains to be seen whether this trade is a one-time space-saving move to give the youngsters more playing time and free up the DH position, or a precursor to a bigger sale by the Giants at the deadline. What happens with Blake Snell, who has played great recently and will likely opt out of his contract this winter, will tell the story. Unfortunately, it seems the Giants are acting like small fish. Mintz