Ranking Free Agent Jorge Soler's Top 10 Landing Spots amid MLB Rumors
Jorge Soler is not the best player available on Major League Baseball's free-agent market. Nor is he even the best hitter still out there.
But the best pure slugger? Yeah, there's an argument there.
Since he broke out with an American League-leading 48 home runs back in 2019, Soler has averaged 38 long balls per 162 games over the last five seasons. Or, about where he ended his 2023 season (36 homers) with the Miami Marlins before opting out of his contract.
The 31-year-old left $13 million on the table by doing so, and it's unlikely he'll regret it. He's a candidate for a multiyear deal, especially with several teams reportedly interested in him.
So, let's discuss Soler's value before sizing up his 10 best potential landing spots.
What Is Soler's Value in Free Agency?
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There are, of course, knocks against Soler.
The right-handed swinger is not the most consistent hitter, as his OPS+ has veered into below-average territory on two occasions just in the last five years. He's prone to swinging and missing, with a strikeout rate that sticks a little too close to 30 percent for comfort.
Soler has been prone to injuries throughout his 10-year career. Just this last season, for example, he missed 25 games with a variety of ailments.
His slugging numbers are his slugging numbers, however, and they're backed up by eye-popping metrics. To pick just one out of the bucket, he's finished in the 91st percentile or better with his barrel rate in three of the last four seasons.
Further, Atlanta can vouch for Soler's clutch tendencies. He was their MVP when they won the World Series in 2021, and deservedly so based on his 1.191 OPS and three huge homers.
Soler is mostly a designated hitter these days, but he did start 56 games in left field in 2022 and 31 games in right field last season. Between that and his relative youth, some teams might find him more attractive than, say, J.D. Martinez.
The three-year, $45 million contract that MLB Trade Rumors forecasted for Soler in November seemed fair enough at the time. And now, even more so after Mitch Garver (a fellow "mostly a designated hitter" type) got two years and $26 million.
So after first touching on some honorable mentions, let's rank 10 possibilities to sign Soler based on how much sense they make for him.
Note: All 2023 designated hitter WAR is courtesy of Baseball Reference, with 2024 roster projections courtesy of RosterResource at FanGraphs.
Honorable Mentions
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Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians hit an MLB-low 124 home runs in 2023. They also got a league-low .664 OPS out of the DH spot. They're thus a fit for Soler if there ever was one...so long as one ignores that they probably don't have the budget for him.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers got just a .668 OPS from their DHs in 2023, not to mention even fewer homers (16) than the Guardians (21) got from theirs. Yet they've been on a payroll-slashing mission this winter, and there's otherwise sense in keeping the DH spot open for Christian Yelich.
San Diego Padres
Speaking of payroll-slashing missions, the Padres might not even spend $200 million in 2024 after dropping $255 million on payroll last year. It's thus hard to see them signing Soler, even if he'd fit reasonably well in in the lineup spot vacated by Juan Soto.
Texas Rangers
With Garver now in Seattle, Soler joining up with the reigning World Series champs is nothing if not a fun concept. But even if they do eventually decide to further escalate their payroll, the Rangers need pitching a lot more than they need another bat.
10. Miami Marlins
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 1.6 (14th)
2024 Projected DH: Avisaíl García
For the Marlins, moving on from Soler would mean moving on without their most prolific power source from last season.
Whereas he hit 36 homers, nobody else on the team even eclipsed 20. García didn't come close, getting into only 37 games and going yard three times in the second year of his four-year, $53 million contract.
Yet if the Marlins are interested in re-signing Soler, one guy they've apparently yet to tell is Soler himself:
With only a $13 million gap between what they spent in 2023 and what they project to spend in 2024, this could simply be a money thing. It's either that or the Marlins are confident in García, though why they would be after 11 homers and minus-1.6 rWAR in two seasons is anyone's guess.
9. Seattle Mariners
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 1.1 (T-17th)
2024 Projected DH: Mitch Garver
The Mariners have been a consistent presence in Soler rumors, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Héctor Gómez of Z101 Digital among those making the connection.
Up until recently, the fit made sense. The Mariners ranked third from the bottom of MLB with the .677 OPS that they got from their DHs in 2023. And once they traded Eugenio Suárez, they suddenly had a need for a right-handed slugger.
But now? Honestly, it's hard to see how this would work. In addition to Garver, the Mariners added another right-hander power supply in the trade that brought Mitch Haniger back to Seattle. Their offense now seems more or less set.
This is to say nothing of how Soler isn't the high-contact type the Mariners say they want. It's also to say nothing of how Soler himself might feel about T-Mobile Park, which is possibly the least hitter-friendly park in MLB.
8. Washington Nationals
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 0.7 (T-22nd)
2024 Projected DH: Jake Alu
There's been at least one report connecting the Nationals and Soler this winter, but that's not the best reason to wonder if the two parties could team up.
More simply, Soler would fix the major problem the Nationals have had at DH since the position went permanently universal in 2022: power. Across the last two seasons, the 25 homers they've gotten from the DH spot are the fewest of any team.
Whether the Nationals are ready to spend while their rebuild is still ongoing is a question. But if they really want Soler, they should be able to afford him. They're projected for a $123 million payroll in 2024, a figure well shy of the club's high of $197.2 million from 2019.
Still, that question of whether the Nats are ready to spend lingers. And even if they are, one can imagine a scenario in which they would have to overbid for Soler to keep him out of the clutches of a team that's ready to contend now.
7. Los Angeles Angels
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 5.2 (1st)
2024 Projected DH: Brandon Drury
With all respect to Drury, the Angels are only going to recreate the production they got from the DH slot in 2023 if they sign somebody better to replace Shohei Ohtani.
Like, for example, Martinez. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported in December that the veteran slugger is on the Angels' radar. He spent last season in Southern California with the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he produced an .893 OPS and 33 homers.
If they can't get Martinez, might the Angels go for Soler instead? There's no solid reporting connecting the two sides, yet it does bear noting that Soler and Ron Washington, the Angels' new manager, crossed paths in 2021 when Washington was Atlanta's third base coach.
Then again, it's possible the Angels haven't been linked to Soler because his power stroke wouldn't play at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Right field is its main power alley, and only eight of his 170 career homers have gone out that way.
6. Chicago Cubs
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 0.7 (T-22nd)
2024 Projected DH: Christopher Morel
As to other possible destinations for Ohtani, the Cubs were also in the mix to sign the two-time MVP before he landed with the Dodgers.
The most likely reason the Cubs went after Ohtani is because they wanted him, specifically, and not because they want a new DH, generally. But if they are amenable to adding a DH, they could do worse than Soler.
It was on the North Side of Chicago that Soler began his major league career back in 2014, and he even saw some action in the Cubs' World Series run two years later. He thus has firsthand experience with how Wrigley Field can benefit home run hitters.
For now, though, the Cubs' top priority in free agency should be re-signing Cody Bellinger. And even if they can't, there'd be a question of how much there would be to gain from swapping out Morel for Soler at DH. Morel is a barrel machine in his own right, after all.
5. San Francisco Giants
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 1.2 (T-15th)
2024 Projected DH: Wilmer Flores
The Giants are another team that was in on Ohtani, and they were so serious that they were even willing to match the Dodgers' $700 million offer.
That obviously didn't work out. And while the Giants' subsequent signing of Jung Hoo Lee did add a talented bat-to-ball hitter to their lineup, they still need a power source. Their .383 slugging percentage was the lowest in the National League last season.
Since Flores can work as a utility infielder, there's no reason Soler couldn't slot into an everyday DH gig in San Francisco. And albeit in a small sample size, he's actually handled Oracle Park well to the tune of a career .929 OPS.
Still, it's no secret that Oracle Park is not a haven for home run hitters. Even if that doesn't spook Soler, it could explain why the Giants have yet to be solidly connected to him. Take away his home run power, and he basically has nothing left.
4. Boston Red Sox
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 2.1 (11th)
2024 Projected DH: Masataka Yoshida
Could the Red Sox be the front-runner for Soler?
That was the word according to Gómez as recently as last Thursday. And it makes some sense. They're on the defensive as they've thus far failed to deliver after setting high expectations for the offseason, and they do need another right-handed bat.
In this case, they'd be targeting a guy known for hitting moonshots to left field. That's where the Green Monster is at Fenway Park. A pretty simple equation, right?
Yet as much as he's known for pulling moonshots, Soler has actually hit the bulk of his homers (104, to be exact) up the middle. And if the Red Sox were to sign Soler, Yoshida would become a man without a position. Not ideal, given that he's only a year into a five-year, $90 million contract.
3. New York Mets
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 0.3 (28th)
2024 Projected DH: DJ Stewart
As Gómez also reported, the Mets are another team with "heavy interest" in Soler.
This isn't terribly surprising, if for no other reason than the Mets are also known to have interest in Martinez. The between-the-lines reading is that they want to upgrade at DH, as well they should after the position yielded only a .220 average in 2023.
Soler knows the NL East from his time with Atlanta and Miami, and it doesn't require a big imaginative leap to see him getting the Mets back to contention after an 87-loss season in 2023. Add him to the middle of that lineup alongside Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, and you have something potentially special.
Citi Field does lean pitcher-friendly, however, and Soler may know that via the .467 OPS and zero homers he has there for his career. And apropos of said 87-loss season, he might do better if he wants to win sooner rather than later.
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 0.9 (21st)
2024 Projected DH: Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Though they didn't get as much play as the Red Sox and Mets, Gómez's report also put the Diamondbacks in the race for Soler.
This is coming after Rosenthal had previously connected the two back in December, so there's a bit too much smoke here for there to be no fire. And if so, well, good.
Though Gurriel is capable of upgrading a DH spot that produced only a .678 OPS last season, he fits better out in left field. And given all the Dodgers have done this winter, the D-backs indeed should be chasing every advantage in trying to keep up in the NL West.
But whereas Martinez proved in 2017 that his swing works fine at Chase Field, that doesn't change that it typically doesn't play friendly to home run hitters. Even if these are the National League champs we're talking about, that should give Soler at least some pause.
1. Toronto Blue Jays
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2023 Designated Hitter WAR: 3.2 (5th)
2024 Projected DH: Danny Jansen
After Gómez put the Red Sox, Mets and Diamondbacks in the mix for Soler last Thursday, he circled back a day later and said the Blue Jays "appear willing" to grant him the multiyear deal he seeks.
Notably, this tracks with what Toronto general manager Ross Atkins told reporters about being willing to add a DH type:
Brandon Belt and Matt Chapman, both of whom are free agents, combined to hit 36 home runs in 2023. That's exactly how many Soler hit all on his own, so there'd be some delightful symmetry going on if they were to sign him.
Otherwise, Toronto's contention window is wide-open and the Rogers Centre tends to favor sluggers. So were it not for the reality that it's really another left-handed hitter Toronto's lineup needs, there'd be nothing not to like about this fit.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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