Jorge

Soler

The season hasn’t even been over a full 24 hours and we have our first trade. Soler is coming off a down season that saw him hit .241/.338/.442 in 142 games with 21 home runs, 84 runs scored, and 64 RBI. He figures to serve as the primary designated hitter for the Angels and will add some much-needed thump to the middle of their order. With full-time playing time, he should remain on the fantasy radar for managers who are in need of some late-round power, but the counting stats will suffer. The Angels will pay all of Soler’s $13 million salary for each of the next two seasons. This does mean that Mike Trout spending more time at DH next year seems less likely.

Soler didn’t have any other hits in the game, but a homer makes a one-hit game better than most. It’s the 21st for the 32-year-old, and the ninth since he was traded to Atlanta from San Francisco. Soler has also registered an OPS of .827 since that deal, and clearly enjoys wearing the Atlanta colors more than others.

Soler was one riddle the Nationals’ pitchers couldn’t solve in this one. He was on base three times and scorched all three of his balls in play. He and Michael Harris represented the best chance for a Braves’ rally with back-to-back doubles in the sixth inning before Marcell Ozuna struck out to end the game. Soler has cooled down a lot after a hot run just after being traded to Atlanta with a .604 OPS over his last 15 games.

This was Soler’s first game not hitting either first or second since being acquired by the Braves. And that made sense too since you have to get, checks notes, Whit Merrifield into the two-hole. Nevertheless, Soler scalded his double 110.5 MPH and has an .835 OPS since the All-Star break after dragging his feet through the first half.

After returning to the Braves’ lineup on Friday, Soler will get another night off as they ease him back into action after missing seven straight games with a left hamstring strain. Expect him to return to the lineup for Sunday’s series finale.

Worse than the poor night at the plate was that he simply gave up on a double from Keibert Ruiz that would have been caught by every other right fielder in MLB. We’re not even really blaming Soler for that; he’s an obvious DH at this point in his career, yet the Braves acquired him knowing they’d have to play him in the outfield regularly. It’s thus far going about as well as most would have expected.

The 32-year-old slugger missed each of the team’s previous seven ballgames due to a left hamstring strain. With Michael Harris II back in the fold now, Soler has slid down to the second spot in the Braves’ lineup for his matchup against Nationals’ southpaw MacKenzie Gore on Friday evening in Atlanta.

Soler will miss his seventh straight contest on Thursday night due to a lingering left hamstring strain. The 32-year-old slugger has come off the bench to pinch-hit in the last two games, but isn’t expected to rejoin Atlanta’s lineup until Friday night. It’ll be Adam Duvall patrolling left field in his absence.

With the Braves facing a left-handed starter, Kelenic will take a seat with Adam Duvall in the lineup batting fifth. The concern for Kelenic is that he could remain on the bench more regularly, even against righties, when Jorge Soler returns from injury this weekend. Ramon Laureano has been outplaying Kelenic pretty clearly over the last few weeks, so it’s possible the Braves shift Kelenic to be a left-handed hitter off the bench.

This might be another situation in which a Braves player misses 10 days without ever going on the IL. Ramón Laureano has started every game since Soler went down, as Adam Duvall remains glued to the bench.