Without question, this current stretch the Atlanta Braves are in the middle of is the worst of the 2024 season by a pretty wide margin. They have lost seven of their last eight games and there have been failures across the board. The starters have finally begun to falter, the bullpen has had notable collapses, and the offense has been, at best, inconsistent. Right now, the Braves are just not a fun team to watch period.
We all should have seen this coming, unfortunately. The sheer number of injuries to the Braves roster was going to catch up to them eventually. One or two guys being out is one thing, but to have so many top talents out was never going to be easy to deal with and rough patches like these were, in many ways, inevitable.
However, there was a bright spot from Atlanta's dumpster fire of a series against the Rockies and that was the play of Jorge Soler.
Braves' trade for Jorge Soler starting to pay dividends
When the Braves acquired Soler before the trade deadline this year, few expected him to have the same impact that he did when Atlanta acquired him for the first time in 2021. While Soler had clearly shown the ability to still hit balls a mile, his .749 OPS with the Giants left a lot to be desired and his hit tool has remained a question mark since he left the Braves after the 2021 season.
However, Soler has once again proven to be a valuable asset for the Braves at the plate even though his outfield defense still leaves a lot to be desired. In the 10 games he has played for the Braves this season, Soler is slashing .297/.395/.649 with four homers and all four of those homers came during the Colorado series. Some may point to Coors Field being the reason for the sudden power output, but those balls would have been homers in most parks. When general manager Alex Anthopoulos called Soler one of the best bats on the market thanks to his power and OBP skills, he was clearly on to something.
Whether it will be enough to turn the Braves' season around is a different question entirely. While it is widely expected that Michael Harris II's return this week to the lineup will be another boost, this is still a very banged up and flawed Atlanta roster at the moment that is playing exceedingly poorly. However, Soler heating up at least gives Atlanta hope that such a turnaround is at least possible.