The Angels and Braves wasted little time hammering out the primary important commerce of the offseason, because the groups introduced Thursday that they’ve agreed on a swap sending designated hitter Jorge Soler to Anaheim in alternate for righty Griffin Canning. There’s reportedly no cash altering fingers within the deal. The Angels will tackle the whole lot of the remaining two years and $26MM on Soler’s contract. Atlanta, in the meantime, will probably be on the hook for Canning’s wage in his closing season of arbitration. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz initiatives a $5.1MM wage for Canning, who’ll be a free agent subsequent winter.
Soler stood as one of the vital apparent commerce candidates in all of baseball this offseason, given his defensive limitations and the presence of Marcell Ozuna in Atlanta. The Braves acquired him as one thing of a desperation transfer on the deadline, needing assist for an injury-ravaged lineup. The plan at all times gave the impression to be stomaching Soler within the outfield for a few months and pursuing a commerce within the offseason (therefore Soler rating prominently on our listing of the highest 35 commerce candidates of the 2024-25 offseason).
The 32-year-old Soler (33 in February) will add a thunderous bat and defensively restricted talent set to the Angels’ roster. He inked a three-year, $42MM cope with the Giants final winter on the heels of a 36-homer marketing campaign in Miami and has now been traded twice within the first yr of the contract. That isn’t for lack of manufacturing, nevertheless. On the contrary, Soler loved a strong season on the plate, slashing .241/.338/.442 in 142 video games. He was notably productive from June onward, catching hearth with a .263/.366/.489 batting line and clubbing 15 of his 21 homers in that span of 386 plate appearances.
Soler merely wasn’t long-term match on Atlanta’s roster with Ozuna a lock to be retained on a $16MM membership possibility. Each gamers provide big energy however bottom-of-the-scale protection within the outfield corners. The Braves, as a luxurious tax payor, would’ve been on the hook for overage penalties along with the $13MM yearly owed to Soler.
With the Angels, it’s a extra simple match. He’ll slot in because the on a regular basis designated hitter on a Halos membership that used journeyman Willie Calhoun as its main possibility on the DH place in 2024. Eighteen gamers noticed time at DH for the Angels final yr, and their collective output (.222/.299/.328) was the fifth-worst within the sport, by measure of wRC+ (80). Even when Soler doesn’t bounce all the best way again to his standout 2023 manufacturing, his 2024 output represents a monumental improve over what the Angels acquired out of final yr’s committee strategy to the DH spot of their lineup.
Soler is now one in all 5 Angels below a assured contract for the 2025 season, becoming a member of Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Tyler Anderson and Robert Stephenson. Add in an arbitration class that would value upwards of $31-32MM earlier than any potential non-tenders (by way of Swartz’s beforehand referenced projections), and the Halos are a projected payroll round $168MM (by way of RosterResource) with the complete offseason forward of them. They’re presently about $58MM beneath the primary luxurious tax threshold.
For the Braves, the commerce subtracts an onerous contract whereas including one other competitor to their rotation competitors behind Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Schwellenbach (and, as soon as wholesome, Spencer Strider). Canning, a former second-round decide and high prospect, has proven promise with the Angels at instances — 2020 and 2023, specifically — however has but to solidify himself as a viable large leagues starter. He’s coming off a season that noticed him take in a career-high 171 2/3 innings however accomplish that with a lackluster 5.19 earned run common. His 17.6% strikeout price, 8.9% stroll price, 40.7% ground-ball price and 1.63 HR/9 mark are all worse than the league common.
As not too long ago as ’23, nevertheless, Canning logged 127 innings with a 4.32 ERA and far more promising strikeout and stroll charges of 25.9% and 6.7%, respectively. A dip in each command and fastball velocity (94.7 mph in 2023, 93.4 mph in 2024) contributed to a downturn on the mound. That mentioned, Canning entered the 2024 season with career-long strikeout and stroll charges that had been higher than league common and a good little bit of post-hype prospect pedigree. He gained’t be assured a rotation spot in Atlanta, but when he’s tendered a contract — not a certain factor — he’d compete with AJ Smith-Shawver, Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder and Hurston Waldrep for a spot behind the beginning employees.
Canning has greater than 5 years of service time and thus can’t be optioned to the minors with out his consent. That lack of choices leaves open the likelihood that the Braves may try and signal him to a one-year deal that checks in properly shy of his projected arbitration wage and, if unsuccessful, decline to tender him a contract. That’d render the Soler commerce a straight-up wage dump, however that’s nonetheless not a wholly dangerous end result for the Braves. If Canning is certainly tendered a contract, he is also used as a swingman or lengthy reliever.
The Braves paid the luxurious tax in each 2023 and 2024. They’re overwhelmingly seemingly to take action once more in 2025, primarily based on the state of their books. Paying Soler $13MM would’ve include a minimum of a 50% luxurious tax — presumably extra, relying on the extent of their remaining offseason spending. For a membership with holes to fill within the rotation and fairly seemingly at shortstop, that was an untenable setup. In impact, Atlanta is shopping for low on a rotation flier and creating better monetary flexibility to handle different offseason wants. The Angels, in the meantime, transfer a possible fifth starter/non-tender candidate to supply a considerable improve to a lackluster offense. The Angels’ roster remains to be plagued by holes, so this needs to be simply the primary of many additions if the staff is intent on making an attempt to compete subsequent season. It’s a high quality begin so long as it’s merely the primary domino in a broader sequence.
Mike Rodriguez first reported Soler was being traded to the Angels. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Canning was headed again to Atlanta. David O’Brien of The Athletic reported that no cash was altering fingers within the commerce.
