By Jeff Passan, ESPN July 30, 2024, 12:12 a.m. ET
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Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion Dollar Mystery of Sports’ Most Valuable Commodity”
The Atlanta Braves acquired outfielder Jorge Soler and right-handed relief pitcher Luke Jackson from the San Francisco Giants late Monday, returning two key players from their 2021 World Series-winning team.
The deal, which sent left-handed relief pitcher Tyler Matzek and minor-league third baseman Savin Ceballos to San Francisco, was essentially a waste of money by the Giants, a team that played arguably its best baseball this year. The Braves will be responsible for Soler’s salary for the remainder of this season, as well as the $26 million he is owed in the free-agent contract he signed with San Francisco over the winter.
Soler will return to the Braves nearly three years after being acquired by them from Kansas City in 2021. Atlanta won the World Series in a landslide victory, and his 446-foot home run from Minute Maid Park in Houston in Game 6 became one of the most memorable swings in franchise history, earning him World Series MVP honors.
His power is undeniable. Soler hit his longest homer of the season, 478 feet, last week and is batting .240/.330/.419 with 12 homers this season. He joins a Braves team that has been plagued by injuries all season, from a torn ACL in NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in ace Spencer Strider.
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Despite their offensive struggles, the Braves remain in the No. 1 wild-card spot in the National League and weren’t planning on getting busy at the deadline, but the chance to reunite with Soler and Jackson was too enticing to pass up.
Jackson, 32, had an up-and-down 2024 season but pitched well in July, striking out 13 and walking just one batter in nine innings. This season, he has a 5.40 ERA, striking out 33 and walking 15 in 35 innings. He joins a strong Braves relief corps that has one of the worst ERAs in the National League with a 2.90 ERA.
San Francisco was one of four teams that made no moves until Monday amid a flurry of transactions ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline, but by trading Soler, the team signaled its willingness to part ways with players after a four-game winning streak that puts them four games out of the third spot in the National League wild card bracket.
Soler played as a designated hitter this season but is expected to play in the outfield with the Braves, who have All-Star slugger Marcell Ozuna at designated hitter. With center fielders Michael Harris and Acuña on the injured list, the Braves have a juggling outfield that includes Jarred Kelenic, Ramon Laureano and two outfielders they acquired at the 2021 deadline in Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario.
The Giants could continue to thin their depth with National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell at the helm, but his $30 million player option for next season limits the uncertainty for a acquiring team and limits the chances of Snell being moved because the Giants are keen to bring back top prospects, executives said this week.
