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Jorge Soler has signed with the San Francisco Giants. What is the fantasy baseball impact of this move and what is his outlook as the Giants' designated hitter?
A major domino fell overnight on Monday night/Tuesday morning as another big bat came off the free-agent market as pitchers and catchers filed into their respective spring training facilities.
The San Francisco Giants have landed slugger Jorge Soler on a three-year, $42 million pact. The 31-year-old is coming off a big season with the Marlins, slugging 36 home runs alongside a .853 OPS across 580 plate appearances. It was good enough for Soler to opt out of the final season of his contract with Miami, thus becoming a free agent. The Marlins did not tender him a qualifying offer, so Soler was not attached to draft pick compensation.
While the Giants land a right-handed power bat to fill their designated hitter vacancy, what does the move mean for Jorge Soler's fantasy baseball value? Let's dive in and find out!
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Jorge Soler's Fantasy Baseball Upside With The Giants
The fact that Soler spent just 241 2/3 innings in the outfield with the Marlins in 2023 shouldn't matter in 2024. He will retain outfield eligibility even though his outfield reps will once again be kept to a minimum.
As another small tidbit, the venue change doesn't play much of a factor either. According to Statcast, the Giants' Oracle Park ranked 27th of 30 MLB parks for home run factor from 2021-2023. Only PNC Park in Pittsburgh and Comerica Park in Detroit suppressed home runs the most.
At the same time, loanDepot Park in Miami ranked 24th in this department. Their home run factor of 86 (14% below the league average) was only marginally better than Oracle Park's 84 mark.
Despite a tough home run park in Miami, Soler was able to slug those 36 long balls, the second time in his career he has hit at least that many bombs after leading in the American League with 48 in 2019. 16 of his 36 homers came at home.
At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, Soler boasts light-tower power. ATC is projecting another 30 home runs for Soler, and while they are projecting 17 fewer games out of him in 2024, his 76 projected RBI are nearly identical to the 75 runs he drove in a season ago. Soler does have some swing-and-miss in his game, but his walk rate has been wildly consistent in his big-league career and projects at a healthy 11.1% in 2024.
Jorge Soler has reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with the @SFGiants.
Soler was one of 10 players with at least 35 home runs and an OBP of .340 last season.#MLB | #SFGiants pic.twitter.com/r9wQWZMA0V
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) February 13, 2024
Soler is sporting a 153.10 ADP at the moment, a figure that seems well accounted for given his power projection. At 31, he remains in his prime and, if healthy, should be able to slug at least 30 long balls for the third time in his big-league career.
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