The remaining free-agent market might be heating up with pitchers and catchers reporting this week.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported late on Monday night that the Giants had agreed to a three-year contract with slugger Jorge Soler. The following morning, Jeff Passan of ESPN added that the deal is worth $42 million.
The 31-year-old right fielder and designated hitter was one of the top power hitters on the market this winter, as Soler slashed a .250/.341/.512 line with 36 home runs and 24 doubles for the Miami Marlins in 2023. That All-Star performance with Miami was Soler’s strongest full season since he led the American League with 48 home runs while with the Kansas City Royals in 2019.
Since then, Soler has been wildly inconsistent. He had a rough season in 2021 with the Royals and was traded to the Atlanta Braves, where he helped the team win the World Series with three home runs and an OPS of 1.191 in their six-game win over the Houston Astros. The following year in 2022, Soler signed with the Marlins and hit just 13 home runs with a .695 OPS over an injury-riddled campaign.
The Blue Jays were among the teams reportedly interested in signing Soler this off-season, but the addition of Justin Turner to a one-year, $13 million contract made it very unlikely the team would add another right-handed player who isn’t strong defensively. Though Soler is likely the better power hitter at this stage, Turner has been more consistent and the one-year contract is much easier for the team to navigate. The Soler signing for the Giants is somewhat reminiscent of when the Blue Jays inked Kendrys Morales to a three-year, $33 million deal a few years ago.
Also worth noting, the Giants signing Soler might take them out of the running to land either or Matt Chapman or Cody Bellinger, the top two remaining position players on the open market. San Francisco also signed Korean star Jung Hoo Lee to a six-year contract earlier in the off-season. The Blue Jays, Giants, and Chicago Cubs are the teams who have most frequently been mentioned as destinations for either of the aforementioned Scott Boras clients.
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