The Braves came out of the trade deadline with Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson; it was one of the more quiet deadlines among the “buyers” and one of Alex Anthopoulos’ more quiet cycles.
However, Soler should bring much-needed pop and on-base ability to an offense that has been without a solid leadoff hitter since Ronald Acuna Jr.’s injury, despite Jarred Kelenic’s brief performance. Even though Soler has struggled in his return to the Braves, the team is on a roll, having won five of their previous six games and trailing the first-place Phillies in the NL East by only 6.0 games. They’re regaining health and starting to hit again. That is why they are winning, but it does not excuse the weird trade deadline cycle. A curious feature that I’ve discussed privately is the Giants’ desire to deal Jorge Soler to the Braves, which is why The Athletic branded San Francisco’s
They considered trading Blake Snell, but ultimately decided to keep him. They transferred one of their top power hitters, Jorge Soler, to the Braves for almost nothing other than to save money. They traded Alex Cobb to the Guardians before he had thrown a single pitch in the majors this season. After selling those two players, they went on to sign Mark Canha, a lesser bat than Soler but one that provides walks and home runs. It was perplexing to see a team that was only three and a half games out of postseason contention sell more than it bought without selling Snell.
Buying and selling at the trade deadline is going to be a popular approach going forward, and the only reason I can come up with for the Giants trading Soler and acquiring Mark Canha is financial flexibility.
The Braves will owe Soler $13 million in 2025 and $13 million in 2026, while Canha is on an expiring deal. Saving money isn’t a surprising move, but it is for an organization like the Giants, who have plenty of money and were only a few games out of the Wild Card at the trade deadline.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, though.
