Jorge Soler
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Jorge Carlos Soler Castillo (born February 25, 1992) is a Cuban
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
for the Miami Marlins of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB). Soler has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, and
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
. Soler played for the
Cuban national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been des ...
in international competition. He defected from Cuba in 2011, seeking a career in MLB. After establishing residency in Haiti, Soler signed a nine-year contract with the Cubs. He made his MLB debut in 2014 and won the
2016 World Series The 2016 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2016 season. The 112th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs and the American Leag ...
with the Cubs. The Cubs traded Soler to the Royals after the 2016 season. He led the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
in
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s in 2019. Traded to Atlanta in 2021, Soler won the
2021 World Series The 2021 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2021 season. The 117th World Series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves and the American League (AL) champion H ...
and earned the
World Series Most Valuable Player Award The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball p ...
. Soler signed with the Marlins before the 2022 season.


Cuban career

Soler played for the
Cuban national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been des ...
in the
2010 World Junior Baseball Championship The 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship was an international baseball competition being held at the Port Arthur Stadium and Central Ball Park in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada from July 23 to August 1, 2010. Teams Just before the tournament s ...
, where he had a .304
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
, .500 on-base percentage, and .522 slugging percentage. His nine walks were the second most in the tournament. Cuba won the bronze medal. Soler also played briefly with the
Industriales Industriales is a baseball team in the Cuban National Series. Located in Cerro, La Habana, it is known as the only team representing the country’s capital, Havana. Industriales is historically the most successful team in the National Series, a ...
in the
Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...
. Soler defected from Cuba in 2011 to pursue his career in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB). He established residency in Haiti. Soler was unblocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on June 2, 2012, making him an MLB free agent. As a free agent, many teams were involved in bidding on Soler.


Scouting profile

Soler is tall and weighs . He was described as a power-hitting outfielder who would likely play right field. Jim Callis of '' Baseball America'' described Soler in 2011 as "a 19-year-old athlete with five-tool potential." According to Callis, Soler likely would have been a top-five pick in the 2010 draft had he been eligible. Kevin Goldstein of '' Baseball Prospectus'' did not rank Soler in his list of the top baseball prospects prior to the 2012 season, but said he would have ranked Soler as the 38th or 39th best prospect if he were eligible. Some teams preferred Soler to higher profile Cuban defector
Yoenis Céspedes Yoenis Céspedes Milanés (born October 18, 1985), nicknamed "La Potencia" (The Power), is a Cuban-born professional baseball outfielder. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on March 28, 2012, for the Oakland Athletics, and has also p ...
. Keith Law of
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indicated that Soler had the talent of a top-five draft choice in the
2012 Major League Baseball Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks, first ...
, had he been eligible to be drafted. Writing for
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, Mauricio Rubio wrote that "Early in his career he was benched for not hustling, and in a separate incident he ran toward an opposing dugout with a bat." Writing for the Sporting News, Jeff Mans noted that: "The biggest issue with Soler aside from the hamstring injuries is his temper.... He started out on the wrong foot with the Cubs after failing to report to minor league camp shortly after signing his nine-year, $30 million deal, feeling that he should have been in Chicago immediately. The other scare for the Cubs brass was his relative inability to hit righthanded pitching." According to
Statcast Statcast is a high-speed, high-accuracy, automated tool developed to analyze player movements and athletic abilities in Major League Baseball (MLB). Statcast was introduced to all thirty MLB stadiums in 2015, a year now considered the beginning ...
, Soler's average launch speed was in 2016.


American career


Minor League Baseball

On June 11, 2012, Soler reportedly agreed to a nine-year $30 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs had reportedly agreed to a deal with Soler before he was declared a free agent, though Cubs
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Jed Hoyer Jed Hoyer (born December 7, 1973) is the president of baseball operations of the Chicago Cubs. He has been the general manager of the San Diego Padres and the assistant general manager of the Boston Red Sox. Early and personal life Hoyer was bor ...
denied this. He made his professional debut that same season with the
AZL Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...
and was promoted to the
Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peor ...
in August. In 34 games between the two teams he batted .299 with five home runs and 25 RBIs. On April 10, 2013, while playing on the
Daytona Cubs Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as ...
, immediately following a bench-clearing incident, Soler charged the opposing Clearwater Threshers' dugout while brandishing a
baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...
. He was ejected from the game, was fined, and received a five-game suspension. Soler spent all of 2013 with Daytona, slashing .281/.343/.467 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 55 games. Soler began the 2014 season with the
Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...
. On July 22, 2014, after batting .415/.494/.862 with six home runs and 22 RBIS in 22 games, Soler was promoted to the Iowa Cubs.


Chicago Cubs

On August 25, 2014, Soler was called up to the Chicago Cubs for the first time. In 32 games for Iowa prior to his call up he was batting .282 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 32 games. In his major league debut on August 27, facing Cincinnati Reds pitcher
Mat Latos Mathew Adam Latos ( ; born December 9, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padre ...
, Soler hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, becoming the 117th player in MLB history to do so. On September 1 Soler had two doubles in his home debut for the Cubs to become just the third major league player in the last 100 years to have at least one extra-base hit in each of his first five games in the majors. Two days later Soler became the second player in Cubs history with as many as 10 RBIs in his first seven games as a major leaguer. Soler was the starting right fielder for the Cubs 2015 season until an ankle injury sidelined him in early June. He returned to the starting lineup on July 5 after spending time in rehab. He finished the regular season with a .268 batting average, 15 home runs and 67 RBIs. In 2015, Soler's postseason debut, he walked as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning in Game 1 of the
Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...
and followed up with a double, two-run home run to straightaway center and two more walks in Game 2, and another home run, a single and two walks in Game 3. Record setting Soler started his postseason career by reaching base nine times in a row, in which he recorded five walks and hit two home runs, a double and a single. In Game 4 Soler ended a game-tying St. Louis Cardinals sixth inning rally with an outfield assist on a game-saving inning-ending put out of Tony Cruz at home plate. The Cubs won the game 6–4 and beat the rival
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
in four games to advance to the National League Championship Series. Soler's playing time with Chicago dipped in 2016, playing in 86 games compared to 101 the previous year. The Cubs were the most dominant team for the entirety of the regular season, entering the postseason as the favorites. Through 13 at-bats in the playoffs, Soler totaled 4 strikeouts, 3 walks, and two hits. Both of his hits came in the World Series. The more notable of the two was a triple in Game 3 off of Bryan Shaw. The Cubs went on to win the 2016 World Series over the Cleveland Indians in seven games.


Kansas City Royals

On December 7, 2016, the Cubs traded Soler to the Kansas City Royals for Wade Davis. After a string of injuries and inconsistency at the plate, Soler was demoted to the
Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at We ...
on June 2. In 74 games for Omaha he batted .267 with 24 home runs and 59 RBIs, and in 35 games for Kansas City, he compiled a .144 batting average with two home runs and six RBIs. Soler began the 2018 season as Kansas City's starting
right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...
. However, after suffering a toe fracture in mid-June, he was sidelined for the remainder of the year. Over 61 games, he hit .265 with nine home runs. Soler returned from the injury in 2019, splitting time between right field and
designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
. On September 3, 2019, he hit his 39th home run of the season, becoming Kansas City's record holder for most home runs in a single season. The very next night, Soler became the first Royals player in history to record at least 40 home runs in a single season. In 2019, he batted .265, and led the American League with 48 home runs and 178 strikeouts in 589 at bats. His home run total was the most ever in a single season by a Cuban-born player. In the 2020 pandemic-shortened season, Soler batted .228 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs in 43 games. At the beginning of the 2021 season with Kansas City, he batted .192/.288/.370 in 308 at bats.


Atlanta Braves

On July 30, 2021, Soler was traded to the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
for Kasey Kalich. In 2021, he batted .223/.316/.432 with 27 home runs and 70 RBIs in 516 at bats between the Royals and the Braves. With the Braves, he hit .269/.358/.524. His home runs averaged 423 feet, the longest average home run distance of all major league hitters. In his first start after spending 10 days on the COVID-19 injured list, Soler hit a leadoff home run in Game 1 of the
2021 World Series The 2021 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2021 season. The 117th World Series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves and the American League (AL) champion H ...
off of Framber Valdez, becoming the first player to hit a home run in the first plate appearance of a World Series. In Game 4, Soler hit a
pinch-hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...
go-ahead home run in the seventh inning to give the Braves a 3–2 lead, which led them to a 3–1 lead in the World Series. In Game 6, he hit his third home run of the series, a 446-foot, three run shot to give the Braves a 3–0 lead.


Miami Marlins

On March 22, 2022, Soler signed a three-year contract with the Miami Marlins.


See also

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Kansas City Royals award winners and league leaders This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Kansas City Royals professional baseball team. Regular-season awards MVP Award * 1980: George Brett Cy Young Award * 1985: Bret Saberhagen * 1989: Bret Saberhagen * 1994: David Cone ...
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List of baseball players who defected from Cuba This is a list of notable Cuban baseball players who have defected since the beginning of Fidel Castro's presidency. Prior to the Cuban Revolution, which saw Castro rise to power in 1959, Cuban-born players often played in the American Negro lea ...
*
List of Kansas City Royals team records The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They have competed in the American League (AL) since the team began play in 1969, and in the American League Central, AL Central division since 1994. The ...
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List of Major League Baseball players from Cuba The following is a list of baseball players from Cuba who have played in Major League Baseball. A * José Abreu (first baseman), José Abreu * José Acosta (baseball), José Acosta * Merito Acosta * Rafael Almeida * Witto Aloma, Luis (Witto) ...
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List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat In baseball, a home run is credited to a batter when he hits a fair ball and reaches home safely on the same play, without the benefit of an error. 133 players have hit a home run in their first at bat of a Major League Baseball (MLB) game to ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soler, Jorge 1992 births American League home run champions Arizona League Cubs players Atlanta Braves players Chicago Cubs players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Cuban expatriates in Haiti Daytona Cubs players Defecting Cuban baseball players Iowa Cubs players Kansas City Royals players Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Cuba Mesa Solar Sox players Miami Marlins players Omaha Storm Chasers players Peoria Chiefs players Baseball players from Havana Tennessee Smokies players Vaqueros de la Habana players