If only there were some kind of pun I could put here!
Sadly, Jorge Soler's name does not lend itself to such a thing
A rumor! We have a rumor! After weeks of the Giants not signing Matt Chapman, who everyone thought they were about to sign, they have…continued to not sign Matt Chapman. Well, it’s great to be consistent. And as for the other premium free agents, as risky as they are, it would at least be exciting to hear some rumors about Blake Snell or Cody Bellinger. Alas, it is not to be. Ours is not to wonder why, ours is but to click and sigh.
But wait! A new challenger approaches!
Oh, that’s…about the right level for the Giants, yeah.
Jorge Soler opted out of his last year with the Marlins, giving up $13 million this year in favor of what will likely be more millions of dollars over more years. Now the Giants are interested.
Why are the Giants interested? Soler has power. Lots of power. He has a career .224 ISO, and as a major leaguer, Jorge Soler has homered every 20th plate appearance he’s taken. Why, if he got 600 plate appearances, that would mean 30 homers. That’s a good number of homers! Do you remember the last time a Giants player hit 30 homers in a season? That’s right! It was the year 1936. Edward VIII became King of England and then had to abdicate because he insisted on marrying American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Munich Olympics. Franklin Roosevelt — who snubbed Owens worse than Hitler! Fun historical side note that is extending this already iffy joke way too far — would soon be elected to his second term as President. And Mel Ott hit 33 homers. That’s it. That was the last time.
(checks notes) Ah, it appears I may have omitted a player or two from the historical record. My apologies.
It feels like it’s been forever, though. Brandon Belt probably would have gotten there in 2021 if the Colorado Rockies hadn’t spitefully broken his hand just because he’s cool and they’re the Colorado Rockies. Otherwise, the team’s last 30-homer hitter was Barry Bonds in 2004, and this time I double checked, so look forward to a John Kerry joke before the end of this newsletter.
So that’s what Soler brings. He’s been a good hitter over his career, with a lifetime 113 OPS+, and he has great power, and the team could use good hitters with great power. He hit 48 homers in 2019 and 36 homers last year. Smart! He’s entering his age 32 season, so his production shouldn’t fall off too precipitously this season. Nice target! Let’s get him inked so the team can get back to not signing Matt Chapman.
I guess there is one downside to Soler, though, which is that he’s not good.
Jorge Soler is a good hitter, and a comically awful defender. He fields like Joc Pederson if Pederson forgot to bring his glove to the park. Even with those good hitting numbers, he has exactly two (2) seasons with a WAR above 1, and one (1) season with a WAR above 2. He is just, overall, not a particularly strong player. Baseball reference has him worth 5.9 WAR in 3,473 plate appearances, while Fangraphs tips the scale at a career 7.4 WAR.
So is this a good idea? Well, probably not in the classical sense. But it has the opportunity to be an entertaining idea, and that’s worth something too. It’s nice to have a guy in the lineup who just shows up and tries to hit the hell out of the ball, and that’s what Soler does. And last year was a good year for him — he hit .250/.341/.512 for the Marlins, so it’s entirely possible he repeats that performance and he’s worth starting.
But it’s also possible he doesn’t. Likely, even. In 2022, Soler hit .207/.295/.400, and doesn’t it seem like the Giants would get exactly that performance out of him if they signed him? Wouldn’t a high-priced free agent signing that blocks the versatility that Farhan Zaidi loves turn into the next Aaron Rowand? Doesn’t it seem like a high-power, high-strikeout guy would turn into a medium-power, massively high-strikeout guy in San Francisco? Isn’t that just how the world works?
But is that really a good way to evaluate a player? Guys can get better. Through his age 31 season, Nelson Cruz had a career 112 OPS+. Since his age 32 season started, Cruz’s OPS+ has been 139. What if the Giants found Soler at exactly the right moment for him to take that leap? What if they’re right?
What it comes down to is this: I want the Giants to do things that might make them interesting. Soler, for all his faults, can certainly make the team interesting. He has as much ability and power as anyone, and when he’s been able to harness it, he’s been very impressive. It’s risky, but I want the Giants taking risks on talent. Why not go for it? What do you really have to lose?
So I’m a yes on signing Soler. I was for it before I was against it, but now I’m for it again. Take a shot. Acquire some dingers. Let’s have some fun, and then get right back to not signing Matt Chapman.