The Atlanta Braves acquired Jorge Soler from the San Francisco Giants at the MLB trade deadline last season in hope of making a playoff run. While that postseason push didn’t come to be – as the Braves lost in the NL Wild Card round to the San Diego Padres – Soler performed admirably and did provide some power to the Atlanta lineup. He had an .849 OPS over 49 games.
Soler has an extensive history with the Braves. He played a critical role in the Braves 2021 World Series run. However, 2021 was a long time ago at this juncture, and Soler still had $32 million left on his contract as of this writing.
So, it should come as no surprise that Alex Anthopoulos started his offseason by shipping Soler elsewhere. The Braves freed up some spending money in the process. FanSided’s Robert Murray was the first to report the deal.
Source: Jorge Soler to Angels.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) October 31, 2024
Declaring winners and losers of a trade, especially when said deal involves prospects, is especially tough. Here is the return Atlanta received, courtesy of ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The Atlanta Braves will receive right-hander Griffin Canning from the Los Angeles Angels in the trade for Jorge Soler, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 31, 2024
Griffin Canning is a 28-year-old starting pitcher. Canning had a 6-13 record last season with a 5.19 ERA. On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a positive development for the Braves, but Anthopoulos surely has other plans to fill the rotation with viable starting pitching. Max Fried is set to hit free agency, so perhaps the Braves are adding as much depth at the position as possible in case Fried doesn’t return, or his plausible replacements don’t sign after all.
The one positive about Canning is that he’s one of the best fielders at his position. Given the number of ground balls he forces, Canning’s previous gold glove award, won in 2020, could come in handy.
Frankly, Atlanta didn’t need Soler, as they have an abundance of outfield and DH depth with Ronald Acuña Jr. likely returning early next season. Marcell Ozuna’s revival is not lost upon us.
Soler provides the Angels with another big bat for the middle of their lineup, which has been lacking ever since Shohei Ohtani took $700 million and ran to the Dodgers.
Ron Washington has plenty of experience working with Soler, as he was the Braves third base coach during that magical World Series run. He won’t single-handedly make the Angels a playoff contender, but he does provide some much-needed protection for Mike Trout, who’s still entrenched in the team’s plans moving forward.
This may seem like a cop out, but until an Anthopoulos trade fails miserably, I refuse to question him. Soler wasn’t in his long-term vision, which is just fine in my book. The Angels could afford him, and they pulled the trigger. Consider this a win-win for both sides.
