Angels acquire slugger Jorge Soler from Braves for starting pitcher Griffin Canning

ANAHEIM, California. – The Los Angeles Angels have acquired outfielder and design hitter Jorge Soler of the Atlanta Braves in a trade for right-hander Griffin Canning on Thursday.

Soler has been a productive power hitter for five teams over the past eleven Major League seasons. The Cuban slugger was the MVP of the 2021 World Series with Atlanta and also won a ring with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.

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

“I was working out and I got a call from the GM telling me I was being traded,” Soler said through an interpreter. “It’s amazing how quickly everything happened, but I’m grateful to the Angels for giving me the opportunity.”

The Braves recaptured Soler to add offense to their injury-depleted lineup en route to a playoff berth, but he apparently wasn’t a long-term fit in Atlanta. Marcell Ozuna is the Braves’ designated hitter, while Ronald Acuña Jr. will be back from his torn right knee ligament to play right field in 2025.

While Atlanta forgave the $26 million still owed to Soler, the angels were eager to add an established power hitter to their often punchless lineup. Soler also developed a solid relationship with Angels manager Ron Washington and third base coach Eric Young when both were coaches for the Braves in 2021.

“He’s someone who can change a game in one fell swoop,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said. “If you need him, you can go play the outfield. Great person, clubhouse guy with an A-plus, someone our manager is familiar with. It just felt like it was a really good fit for us, a really good fit for us and someone who could help us change our lineup.

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

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

Soler struggled during his 93-game tenure with the Giants, attributing it to issues with his timing and swing. His production rebounded after moving to the Braves on July 29, finishing the season with 21 home runs, 64 RBIs with a .780 OPS for both teams.

Minasian made the deal with Alex Anthopoulos of the Braves, his old boss in Toronto and Atlanta. Minasian said Soler would ideally be a design hitter, but would likely see playing time as an outfielder while the Angels manage a roster that also includes injury-prone veterans Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon.

Soler was exclusively a DH for the Giants, but has played the corner positions at every other stop in his peripatetic career, even though he isn’t considered a strong fielder.

“I have no problem at all with it wherever they put me,” Soler said.

Canning is from Orange County and a former second-round draft pick. He has been part of the Angels’ starting rotation for the past six years when healthy. He won a Gold Glove in 2020 but missed the entire 2022 season due to 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 hard,” Minasian said. “He is someone who took the ball every time last year, in a year in which we had a lot of injuries. He’s one of the reliable guys that was there, ready to go. Even when he was struggling, and he was struggling, he took the ball and gave it everything he had.”

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

“This is move No. 1,” he said. “We expect more movements to follow. I expect that I can improve this club in many different areas.”

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