Braves Reunite With Soler, Jackson From 2021 World Series Team
Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson are very familiar faces in Atlanta. The last time they were on the team, the Braves won it all.
A move flashed across the ticker late in the night on July 29. The Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants both made their first deals of the trade deadline season. The Giants sent OF/DH Jorge Soler and RHP Luke Jackson to Atlanta in exchange for LHP Tyler Matzek and INF Sabin Ceballos.
In 2021, the Atlanta Braves made a number of moves that would prove to be crucial in their eventual winning of the World Series. One of those moves was trading for Jorge Soler. Now, for the second time, Soler heads to Atlanta via trade, this time alongside long-time former Brave Luke Jackson.
This year’s Braves squad has struggled to match the level of offensive production they had enjoyed over the past several seasons. Soler will slot into a corner outfield spot to take at-bats away from Eddie Rosario, Roman Laureano, and Adam Duvall, all of whom have struggled at the plate this season.
In return, the struggling Giants, who currently sit in fourth place in the NL West, were able to dump a good amount of payroll in the hopes of being able to spend big once again in free agency this offseason.
Let’s take a closer look at what this means for both teams.
Braves Acquire Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson
The Braves haven’t shied away from trying to rebuild their 2021 roster. They signed Duvall in March. Then they acquired Rosario after the Nationals DFA’d him at the beginning of July. Now, they have brought back two other members of the world champion 2021 team.
Jorge Soler
2024 Stats: 392 PA / 115 wRC+ / 12 HR / 1 SB / 0.8 fWAR
Soler has been one of the most consistent power hitters in baseball over the past half-decade or so. He’s slashed .240/.331/.478 with 144 homers across the last six seasons.
He’s exclusively played DH for the Giants this season, but with Marcell Ozuna currently holding the DH role in Atlanta, Soler will certainly slot into a corner outfield spot.
Improving the corner outfield was at the top of the wishlist for Braves fans ahead of this deadline.
The Braves, who lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to the second ACL tear of his career earlier this season, have seen a miserable .625 OPS from the left field and right field spots in the lineup in 2024. Center field hasn’t been much better, with Michael Harris II being out since mid-June.
The Braves rank 19th in team wRC+ on the season and 28th in wRC+ as an outfield. Soler brings a much-needed breath of fresh air to the outfield grass in Truist Park.
Luke Jackson
2024 Stats: 35.0 IP / 5.40 ERA / 3.93 xFIP / 11.9% K-BB% / -0.2 fWAR
Jackson left Atlanta in free agency following the 2021 World Series campaign. That season, he had pitched to a 1.98 ERA. It was by far the best season of his career.
He was one of the members of The Night Shift, the self-given nickname for the Braves’ 2021 bullpen. That unit was a pivotal part of the 2021 playoff run, and Jackson was one of the most valuable pieces of the group.
He returns to Atlanta not having been able to replicate his 2021 career year. The 32-year-old missed all of 2022 and returned to pitch 33.1 innings in 2023 to the tune of a 2.97 ERA. This season, his velocity has ticked back up, but his strikeout numbers have gone down. He’s been unlucky considering his ERA is nearly two full runs higher than his 3.93 xFIP.
Jackson will slot into the middle/front of the bullpen and be a solid righty option for manager Brian Snitker to have back in his toolbox.
The Giants Cut Payroll
As of July 30, FanGraphs gives the Giants just a 17.6% chance to make the playoffs. They’re only 4.5 games back of a Wild Card spot, but it appears that San Fran will be looking to offload some payroll and gear up for 2025.
Soler signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the club ahead of this season. Jackson is making $6.5 million this year with a club option for $7 million in 2025.
It’s been reported that the Braves will be taking on the money remaining on both of these contracts. In this way, the Braves were able to make a couple of additions to their roster without having to give up premium prospect capital.
As we’ve seen in various other trades over the past couple of days, the asking price for MLB talent is much higher than in previous years. Take for example the prospects Toronto got in the Yusei Kikuchi deal from July 29.
The Giants received LHP Tyler Matzek, who is currently on the 60-day IL with elbow inflammation, and INF prospect Sabin Ceballos.
Matzek has pitched just 10 innings in 2024. He missed all of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery. The lefty is only slated to make $1.9 million this season, with a club option for $5.5 million next season.
Ceballos is a 21-year-old third-base prospect who ranked as the 26th-best prospect in Atlanta’s system, according to Baseball America. The young infielder was drafted in the third round of the 2023 draft out of the University of Oregon.
Ceballos has played in 84 games in 2024 at High-A, slashing .259/.353/.354 on the season. He’s hit three homers and swiped nine bags. At 6-foot-3, 225 lbs, the righty has a large frame with above-average raw power. He’s also a solid fielder with a plus arm at third.
The Giants successfully dumped a sizeable amount of payroll and got an intriguing infield prospect in the process.
What’s Next for the Braves and the Giants?
The Braves are likely not done making moves. We could still see Atlanta target a starting pitcher or even another outfielder to beef up the struggling corps of hitters they currently have.
For the Giants, there have been rumors circulating about potential trades of LHP Blake Snell and veteran 3B Matt Chapman. If Farhan Zaidi wants to maximize the potential return for these players, this seems to be the deadline to do it. The Giants could offload even more money and set themselves up to spend huge in the coming offseason.
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