Ex-Royals All-Star Celebrates Major Milestone

The Kansas City Royals are on a hot streak after a dreadful start to the 2025 season. The team was 8-14 in April, but has kicked things into gear as of late, winning nine of their last 10 games and improving to 17-15.

Elsewhere in Major League Baseball, a former Royals outfielder accomplished a major goal. Jorge Soler was with the team from 2017-21. He is now with the Los Angeles Angels.

On Thursday, he hit an important milestone, reaching 10 years of service time in the Major Leagues and earning himself a place in some elite company that is not reached very often.

"After Kansas City acquired him from the Chicago Cubs in December 2016, Soler battled injuries and adjusted to a new ballpark before exploding in 2019. He suited up for all 162 games, led the American League with 48 homers (a franchise record), drove in 117 runs, and slugged .569—becoming the first Royal to clear 40 long balls and piling up 82 extra-base hits, third-most in club history. That single-season home run total was also the most from a Cuban-born player in MLB history," Jacob Milham of FanSided wrote.

Soler joined the Royals after having won a World Series title with the Cubs in 2016. During the 2019 season, the veteran slugger even found himself in the American League MVP race, finishing 21st among qualified players.

The 33-year-old slugger is a former All-Star, two-time champion and the 2021 World Series MVP. He's hitting .243 with six homers, 13 RBI and a .779 OPS to start 2025.

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