San Francisco Giants Signing of Former All-Star Looks Even Worse After Second Trade

A former San Francisco Giants outfielder was traded for the second time in three months, further proving how poor of a signing it was.

Jul 26, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants designated hitter Jorge Soler (2) jogs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park. / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline, the San Francisco Giants made a few deals. One of them was with the Atlanta Braves.

They sent outfielder Jorge Soler and relief pitcher Luke Jackson to the Braves in exchange for Tyler Matzek, who was injured at the time, and infield prospect Sabin Ceballos, who played in Single-A.

Matzek was released after making six appearances for the Giants Triple-A team and Ceballos has shown some promise. But, the main reason for making this deal was to shed the salary Soler is owed.

Signed to a three-year, $42 million deal in mid-February, he was traded less than six months after the ink dried on the deal. He didn’t have the kind of impact San Francisco was hoping for and they decided it was best to cut their losses.

The former All-Star and two-time World Series champ did play a little better for Atlanta, as his walk rate and hard hit percentage increased. But, it wasn’t enough for them to want to keep him around long-term.

Hours after the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees to win the 2024 World Series, Soler was on the move again.

The Braves traded him to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for starting pitcher Griffin Canning. The starting pitcher provides some end-of-the-rotation depth for a team that could lose Max Fried and Charlie Morton in free agency.

However, this was yet another salary dump involving Soler.

Canning is projected to earn about $5.1 million in arbitration; the veteran outfielder is owed $13 million in 2025 and 2026, meaning they should save somewhere in the neighborhood of $20.9 million by moving him.

And so the offseason begins: The Atlanta Braves are trading outfielder Jorge Soler to the Los Angeles Angels, a source tells ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 31, 2024

Seeing Soler be traded as a salary dump for the second time not even nine months after signing a three-year contract goes to show just how poor of a move it was for the Giants to make. The idea of adding a home run threat to the middle of their order made sense; he was coming off a 36-home run season with the Miami Marlins.

But, it was money not well spent as there were holes in Soler’s game that shined through during his short stint with San Francisco. Given how late in the offseason he signed, there may not have been much competition to bring him in, as the Giants could have very well bid against themselves, paying much more than was needed.

Hindsight is 20/20 but moves like that are what Buster Posey, the new President of Baseball Operations, needs to avoid.