Jorge Soler Trade Considered Much Better for Braves Than Angels

A notable baseball YouTuber really likes this trade for the Atlanta Braves, but was critical of the Angels for ageeing to it

Jorge Soler is now a Los Angeles Angel, but one baseball mind thinks that's better for the Atlanta Braves / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves recently flipped designated hitter and outfielder Jorge Soler to the Los Angeles Angels for pitcher Griffin Canning. One notable baseball mind on the internet was left perplexed. 

Baseball YouTuber Marc Luino, known for his channel “GiraffeNeckMarc,” posted a video giving his thoughts on the Jorge Soler trade. His overall thoughts were that this was a great move for the Braves but didn’t make sense for the Angels. 

He liked that the Braves were able to clear salary while also gaining a pitcher who had a year of club control. 

“I don’t how you can get free innings like that very often along with shedding $26 million,” Luino said. 

The Braves originally owned $26 million of the $32 million that Soler has on his contract over the next two seasons. The Giants are on the hook for $8 million of retained salary. 

For the most part, this trade was essentially a salary dump that also helped clear a logjam at the designated hitter position. Soler’s defense is liability and they have an all-star bat in Marcell Ozuna.  

Meanwhile, he didn’t like it for the Angels because the Angels were taking on all the salary for a DH-only hitter while forfeiting more of their shallow pitching depth. Even if Canning isn’t that effective of a pitcher, they don’t have a lot of alternatives. 

However, that doesn’t mean that Canning can’t become some surprise addition to the Braves starting rotation. That’s how Reynaldo Lopez made his way onto the scene. He was brought in as an affordable pitching option, and he ended up having an all-star season. 

The Braves tend to have something up their sleeves. 

“There are things that could improve in Cannings game, and I would not be shocked if the Braves know exactly what that is,” Luino said. 

Luino was especially a fan of Canning’s slider. According to Baseball Savant, Canning’s offspeed pitches were in the 87th percentile in run value in 2024. Perhaps the Braves crack a code with that information. He doesn’t necessarily have to be in the rotation. He could make an effective addition to the bullpen too.  

For a move that primarily helped shed salary, that wouldn’t be too shabby of a result.