This is the first trade of the offseason. The Angels have traded pitcher Griffin Canning to the Atlanta Braves for OF Jorge Soler.
First reaction: If Soler is to patrol the outfield with his below average glove, this could indicate Mike Trout is becoming the full time DH, lessening the risk of wear-and-tear injury to the Angels most critical player.
Second reaction: Canning looked fine in his final start of the season on the last Saturday of September 2024 at the Big A. The thought that “He might have figured it out” crossed my mind. The Braves are notorious for understanding arms so I cannot have been the only person whose brain worked that way.
Third Reaction: Braves better be eating a LOT of this old guy’s salary. As Jeff Joiner pointed out in his excellent analysis of Canning earlier today here on the site, the assumption is Canning would be making $5.1 Million. Soler will be paid fourteen million in 2025 and 2026. He is six months younger than Mike Trout.
Fourth Reaction: According to Baseball Reference, his nickname is El Yoyo and he has also been called El Crudo on the diamond. He was born in old Habana. He turns 33 on February 25. Baseball Reference also has a tool called similarity scores, where the sum total of a player’s contrbutions are compared to every player ever and the most similar player is assessed. Soler’s most similar player for the past two seasons and thru the Age 32 season is Hunter Renfroe.
Fifth Reaction: He won a ring with the Cubs in 2016 and another with the Braves in 2021 where he was named the World Series MVP, so there is that vibe if you believe in that sort of stuff.