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Los Angeles Angels acquire Braves slugger Jorge Soler

Posted on by L. Dreeye
Los Angeles Angels acquire Braves slugger Jorge Soler

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels have acquired an outfielder and designated a designated hitter. Jorge Soler from Atlanta Braves in a trade for right-hander Griffin Canning on Thursday.

Soler was a productive hitter for five teams over the previous 11 major league seasons. The Cuban slugger won the 2021 World Series MVP with Atlanta and also won a ring with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.

Soler said he doesn’t expect to be traded by the Braves, who acquired him from San Francisco three months ago. He has two years remaining on a three-year, $42 million contract. he signed with the Giants in February.

“I was training and the general manager called me and told me I was being traded,” Soler said through a translator. “It’s amazing how quickly everything happened, but I’m grateful to the Angels for giving me this opportunity.”

The Braves brought back Soler. to provide offense for their injury-depleted roster en route to a playoff berth, but he was obviously not a long-term fit in Atlanta. Marcell Ozuna is the Braves’ designated hitter, and Ronald Acuña Jr. will return from a torn right knee ligament to play right field in 2025.

While Atlanta paid off the $26 million it still owed Soler, Angels were looking to add an established power forward to their often hitless lineup. Soler also developed strong relationships with Angels manager Ron Washington and third base coach Eric Young when both were Braves coaches in 2021.

“He’s someone who can change a game with one swing of the bat,” Angels general manager Perry Minassian said. “I can go play in the outfield if you need him. A great person, a guy from an A+ club, whom our manager knows. “I just felt like it was a really perfect fit, a really good fit for us and someone who could help turn our roster around.”

Soler is best known for his performance as World Series MVP for Atlanta. Becoming the first player ever to homer as a leadoff hitter in the top half of the first inning of Game 1 of the World Series, he hit a memorable 446-foot three-run shot that sailed past Minute Maid Park. in the Braves’ convincing Game 6 victory over the Houston Astros.

Soler led the AL in homers with the Kansas City Royals in 2019, hitting a career-high 48. He made his first All-Star team and hit 36 ​​homers in 2023 with the Miami Marlins, who signed him as a free agent after his World Series. Heroic series for Atlanta.

Soler struggled through his 93 games with the Giants, blaming timing and hitting issues. His production rebounded after he was traded to the Braves on July 29, finishing the season with 21 homers, 64 RBIs and a .780 OPS for both teams.

Minassian struck a deal with the Braves’ Alex Anthopoulos, his longtime boss in Toronto and Atlanta. Minassian said Soler would ideally be the designated hitter, but he would likely get playing time as an outfielder while the Angels manage a lineup that also includes injury-prone veterans Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon.

Soler was exclusively a fullback for the Giants, but he has played corner outfield position every other time during his itinerant career, although he is not considered a strong outfielder.

“I don’t have any problems wherever they put me,” Soler said.

Canning is an Orange County native and former second-round draft pick who, when healthy, has been part of the Angels’ starting rotation for the past six years. He won the Gold Glove in 2020 but missed the entire 2022 season with a back injury.

Canning went 6-13 with a 5.19 ERA while making a career-high 32 starts last season for the Angels, who finished with the worst record in franchise history (63-99).

“It’s tough,” Minassian said. “He’s the one who took the ball every time last year, a year when we had a lot of injuries. He’s one of the reliable guys who was right there, ready to go. Even when it was difficult for him, and he was struggling, he took the ball and gave it everything he had.”

The Angels added a significant amount of payroll when they acquired Soler, but Minassian said he expects to be aggressive in free agency after Los Angeles collapsed in its first year without Shohei Ohtani.

“That’s move No. 1,” he said. “We expect there will be more moves. I hope to improve this club in many areas.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB