The Giants Add Power — Agree to a Three-Year Deal with Jorge Soler
San Francisco, CA (PSF) — On Monday, the San Francisco Giants added the power that they’ve desperately needed, agreeing to a three-year deal with free agent slugger Jorge Soler.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser first reported the deal late on Monday night.
It was then confirmed by national media the next morning.
In the previous weeks, it had been reported by Slusser that the Giants had engaged in contract discussions with Soler’s camp. Although a reported “staring contest” had occurred between the two sides amidst negotiations, a deal was agreed upon and Soler will now join a Giants lineup that ranked 19th in the MLB in home runs (174), and 27th in the league in slugging percentage (.383).
Soler, who will turn 32 next week, was an All-Star last year, is a 2-time World Series Champion, and the 2021 World Series MVP.
Primarily a designated hitter at this stage in his career, who can fill in at the corner outfield positions for a handful of games, Soler provides the majority of his value with his bat. With 170 career home runs, including a 48-home run season with the Kansas City Royals in 2019, he will add a dimension of power to a Giants lineup that hasn’t had a 30-home run hitter since the Barry Bonds era.
In 137 games last season, and 580 plate appearances, Soler slashed .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs and 75 RBIs (Runs Batted In), mostly in the DH (Designated Hitter) spot, with 241.2 innings in the outfield. This translated to a well above-average 128 OPS+* (On-Base percentage plus Slugging) and 126 wRC+* (weighted Runs Created). In addition to this prolific offensive season, Soler displayed positive trends by posting an above-average walk rate of 11.4 percent and shaved 5.1 percent off his strikeout percentage (29.4 to 24.3).
In total, Soler owns a career .243/.330/.467 slash line with 170 home runs, and 452 runs batted in, in 870 career games.
Much to the delight of Giants fans as well: there’ll be no platooning with Soler, as he hits both lefties and righties effectively. He holds a career .241/.324/.451 slash line against right-handed pitching, and a career .248/.348/.517 slash line against left-handed pitching.
In 2023, Soler hit a solid .242/.326/.462 against right-handed pitching, and an absurd .277/.393/.688 against left-handed pitching. No platooning there — that is valuable production against both sides. Health permitting, he’ll play every game he can.
(* OPS+ — a statistic that factors the entire league with their on-base + slugging percentage, including ballparks. 100 is league average)
(*wRC+ — accounts for runs created by the player, and factors in external factors like ballparks. 100 is league average)
Looking at the advanced statistics, Soler can flat-out rake.
Jorge Soler’s 2023 batted ball metrics. CREDIT: Baseball Savant
Soler is well above average in terms of hard contact, plate discipline, exit velocity, and more. Although he has some swing and miss in his game, his 24.3 percent strikeout percentage is only slightly above the MLB average of 22 percent.
Soler is a quality bat who should provide immense value to a San Francisco Giants team that has struggled to produce quality offensive production since their incredible 2021 season.
In terms of fit, Soler will likely slide right into the heart of the Giants’ order, and be their full-time designated hitter.
Although the baseball fit and skillset is a clean fit, the roster construction becomes slightly more complicated. With a bulk of players on the Giants roster who are suited for full-time or part-time DH duty such as Wilmer Flores, Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis, and LaMonte Wade Jr., it looks increasingly likely that one of those players may be offloaded from the roster in a trade.
Conforto would seem like the most likely candidate for a trade, especially since Soler can occasionally fill in at outfield, the presence of Giants top prospect Luis Matos, and because Conforto and his $18 million salary disappointed to the tune of a mediocre .232/.344/.384 slash line (100 OPS+ — exactly league average) in 2023.
Additionally, Oracle Park has had a long-lasting connotation that hitters don’t want to play there, however, Soler’s power will play there just fine. According to Baseball Savant’s Expected Home Runs by Park, which calculates how many of the player’s recorded home runs would have actually been home runs at every stadium, Soler’s expected home runs in 2023 for Miami’s LoanDepot Park and Oracle Park were identical: 32.
Oracle Park is much kinder to right-handed hitters than left-handed hitters, so Soler is a legitimate contender to break the Giants’ long-lasting 30-home-run curse.
In case you’re still unconvinced:
Yeah, that’ll play just fine.
