Atlanta Braves: An Early Review of the Jorge Soler Trade

One of the more surprising trade deadline acquisitions was the Atlanta Braves acquiring Jorge Soler. How has that move worked out for the Braves?

The Jorge Soler acquisition of the Atlanta Braves was announced as the smoke was settling on the trade deadline. In fact, the news was not broken until 34 minutes after the deadline had passed.

This was a surprising move as Soler was not even rumored to be in trade talks. However, we know that Alex Anthopoulos works in the shadows when it comes to trades and free-agent signings.

So how has the trade worked for the Braves?

Hip Hip, Jorge!

During his time with Kansas City this season, Jorge Soler was hitting .192/.288/.370 with 13 home runs, 38 runs, 37 RBI, with a .289 wOBA, and an 80 wRC+. An extremely disappointing season for a guy who was primarily a designated hitter.

However, he was heating up in July before the trade, hitting .212/.307/.561 with 7 home runs, 15 runs, 9 RBI, a .363 wOBA, and a 130 wRC+.

Since he joined the Braves, he is hitting .274/.376/.557 with 9 home runs, 19 runs, 17 RBI, a .390 wOBA, and a 143 wRC+. His walk rate has risen from 10.6% up to 15%, while his strikeout rate has dropped from 26.9% to 20%.

Arguably one of the biggest reasons for his turnaround was his BABIP normalizing from .229 with the Royals to .275 with the Braves.

He has been a great addition to the Braves lineup. One of the biggest questions was how he would handle the outfield seeing as he was mainly used as a DH in Kansas City.

In 3094.1 innings in the outfield in his career, Soler has a -46 DRS. So, it was fair to be worried about his defense in Atlanta.

However, he has been fine defensively. In 195 innings in the outfield for the Braves, he has a 0 DRS! Even if one prefers OAA (Outs Above Average), he has a 0 there as well.

No, he will not be winning a Gold Glove anytime soon, but if he can be serviceable in the outfield, then it will be a positive (kinda) impact for the Braves.

The main thing bringing Soler’s value down is his atrocious base running. His -3.6 BsR and -3.6 UBR leave a lot to be desired.

Despite the poor base running, Soler has still provided a positive value (0.4 fWAR) in his month with the Braves. What about what the Braves gave up to acquire Soler?

Kasey Kalich

Kasey Kalich was the Braves’ 21st ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline at the time of the trade. Kalich is considered to be a reliever long-term but is seen as a high upside lottery ticket-type prospect.

Since moving to the Royals organization, Kalich has had eight appearances for their High-A affiliate, the Quad Cities River Bandits. In 11 innings of work, he has a 2.45 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 4.49 xFIP, 9.82 K/9, 4.09 BB/9, and 0.82 HR/9.

There are some concerns long-term that Kalich walks too many guys and his peripherals suggest some regression from the 2.45 ERA. However, it is important to note that he is in High-A, so he should not be viewed as a finished product.

Kalich is already 23 years old, which is old for High-A. However, if he starts to figure it out, he should advance through the Royals organization quickly and could find himself in the Major League bullpen within the next few years.

Hopefully, Kasey has himself a long major league career.

At this moment though, the Braves side of the trade has worked exceptionally well. Soler has provided the Braves with a spark in the lineup that they desperately needed following the injury to Ronald Acuña Jr.

Someone in the Braves front office or analytic department deserves a nice raise for identifying Soler as a trade target.