5 free agents the Braves should avoid this offseason at all costs
By Luke Norris
Jorge Soler, DH/OF
Speaking of sentimentality, we come to Jorge Soler, who will likely decline the $9 million player option he has on the final season of his contract with the Miami Marlins.
Soler, like Joc Pederson, was a rental during the Braves' title run in 2021 and became just the second Cuban-born player to win World Series MVP as he slashed .300/.391/.800 with three home runs and six RBI in Atlanta's six-game victory over the Houston Astros.
If forced to make the choice between the two, he's the better option over Pederson. And Soler was an All-Star in 2023, slashing .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs and 75 RBI in 137 games. It could also be an upside for the Braves that he's quite familiar with the National League East.
Overall, however, the juice just won't be worth the squeeze. Soler is extremely one-dimensional and rarely takes the field anymore, as evidenced by the fact that he logged a career-low 32 games in the outfield this past year, all in right -- you know, the same place a guy named Ronald Acuna Jr. hangs out.
Sure, the Braves could just put Soler at DH, but they likely won't want to pay what he could command for that.