Free Agent Profile: Slugger Jorge Soler could give the Blue Jays some much-needed pop in their lineup
8 months ago
It’s no secret that the 2024 Blue Jays need to add some power to their lineup.
In this series, we look at free agents that the Blue Jays could have an interest in as free agency continues. We’ve already covered seven players, which you can find at the bottom of the article. Let’s take a gander at Jorge Soler, a player who the team has reportedly shown an interest in during the GM Meetings.
Jorge Soler’s 2023:
The 31-year-old Cuban outfielder had a great season with the Miami Marlins, slashing .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs in 580 plate appearances for a 126 wRC+ and a 1.9 fWAR. Soler also registered his second-lowest K% of his career at 24.3%, while his BB% of 11.4% was the second-highest mark of his career.
Still, it wasn’t a career-best year for Soler, who once slashed .265/.354/.569 with 48 homers in 679 plate appearances in 2019 with the Kansas City Royals. That season, he had a 136 wRC+ and a 3.7 fWAR, by far his highest marks.
Soler was traded from Kansas City to Atlanta, where he went on to win the World Series MVP in 2021. In the 2021 postseason, Soler slashed .2442/.342/.606 with three homers in 38 plate appearances for a 145 wRC+. He’s also a two-time World Series champion. For his career, Soler is slashing .243/.330/.467 with 170 homers in 3473 plate appearances, along with a 112 wRC+ and a 7.4 fWAR. He also has a respectable 10.5 BB% and an average 26.7 K%.
Jorge Soler’s contract:
Soler opted out of the last season of his contract with the Marlins worth $13 million. So it stands to reason that he’ll be making something more than that on his next contract.
From Jim Bowden’s The Athletic article, he predicts that Soler will sign a two-year, $32 million deal which would likely be about $16 million a season. Furthermore, MLB Trade Rumors predicts that Soler will earn a contract worth $45 million over three years, while also linking the Blue Jays to Soler.
Is Jorge Soler a fit for the Blue Jays:
If you want power, Soler has plenty of that as he’s won the American League home run crown in 2019, and hit 36 bombs in 2023. However, Soler has been rather streaky throughout his career, only posting an fWAR above 1.0 just twice in his 10-year career.
There’s also the fact that Soler is more of a designated hitter than an outfielder. In 2023, Soler only played 241.2 innings in right field and posted a -5 Defensive Runs Saved and a -3 Outs Above Average. To give Soler a multi-year deal of around $15 million a season is quite risky for a streaky slugger who doesn’t add anything defensively.
He has championship pedigree and does hit pull-side bombs, but his expected contract may not be worth it when Teoscar Hernández is available.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.
Previously…
- Free Agent Profile: Shohei Ohtani is this winter’s top free agent despite off-season elbow surgery
- Free Agent Profile: The Blue Jays pursued Cody Bellinger last winter and likely will again this year
- Free Agent Profile: Yoshinobu Yamamoto finished his NPB career with one of the best starts in Japan Series history
- Free Agent Profile: Two-time All-Star Tim Anderson is on the open market after the White Sox declined his option
- Free Agent Profile: Teoscar Hernández said before the trade deadline that he’d be open to a return to the Blue Jays
- Free Agent Profile: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is on the open market following his first All-Star season
- Free Agent Profile: The Blue Jays are apparently interested in outfielder Michael A. Taylor
ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO
Recent articles from Ryley Delaney
