Top 5 Atlanta Braves Set to Become Free Agents in 2022
By Seth Carter
No. 3 Atlanta Braves 2022 Free Agent: Jorge Soler
When the Braves acquired Jorge Soler at the deadline for prospect Kasey Kalich, most fans thought, “Okay, he had that one good season in 2019… can he still hit?”
It was fair to wonder if this guy had any juice left in his bat.
The fact that the Royals were able to get anything out of Soler at this year’s deadline seemed like somewhat of a miracle considering his putrid performance over 2020 and the first half of 2021.
Soler put together a solid 14-game stretch before the deadline to give Anthopoulos enough to see a potential value.
From 2019 to 2020, his OPS plummeted from a .922 to a .769. He finished the 2020 season with a .228 average. At the time the Braves acquired him, his average sat at just .192 on the season.
Naturally, he shows up in Atlanta, Guillermo Heredia hits him in the head a couple of times with a foam sword and he hits .358 with 14 homers in 55 games.
On top of the big bat, the big man walked in 11.9% of his PAs and quickly found himself hitting leadoff in front of one of the best hitters in all of baseball… That’s Freddie Freeman.
Soler is another player whose value has rocketed thanks to his stint in Atlanta. Due to his struggles over the past two seasons, he might still be an affordable piece.
With uncertainty surrounding the Marcell Ozuna ordeal and a potential National League DH, it is not unreasonable to think that the Braves try and keep some of this chemistry together next season and bring Soler back to Cobb County in 2022.