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

AP Sports Writer

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels acquired outfielder and designated hitter Jorge Soler from 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 previous 11 major league seasons. The Cuban slugger was the MVP of the 2021 World Series with Atlanta, and he also won a ring with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.

Soler said he wasn’t expecting 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 getting traded,” Soler said through an interpreter. “It’s amazing how fast everything happened, but I’m grateful for the Angels for giving me the opportunity.”

The Braves reacquired Soler to provide offense for their injury-depleted lineup on the way 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 offloaded the $26 million still owed to Soler, the Angels were eager to add an established power hitter to their frequently 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.

“It’s somebody that can change a game in one swing of the bat,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said. “Can go play the outfield if you need him to. Great human being, A-plus clubhouse guy, somebody that our manager has familiarity with. Just felt like it was a really clean fit, really good fit for us and somebody that could help change our lineup.”

Soler is most famous for his World Series MVP performance for Atlanta. After becoming the first player ever to homer as a leadoff hitter in the top half 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 out of Minute Maid Park in the Braves’ clinching Game 6 victory over the Houston Astros.

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

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

Minasian made the deal with the Braves’ Alex Anthopoulos, his longtime boss in Toronto and Atlanta. Minasian said Soler ideally would be a designated hitter but he likely would get playing time as an outfielder while the Angels manage a roster also featuring injury-prone veterans Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon.

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

“I have no issue at all wherever they put me,” Soler said.

Canning is an Orange County native and a former second-round draft pick who 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 with 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 tough,” Minasian said. “It’s someone who took the ball every single time last year, in a year where we had a ton of injuries. He’s one of the reliable guys that was right there, ready to go. Even when he was struggling, and he had struggles, he did take the ball and give 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 in its first year without Shohei Ohtani.

“This is move No. 1,” he said. “We expect there to be more moves. I expect to improve this club in a lot of different areas.”

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB