With just a day to go until pitchers and catchers report and their lineup still lacking punch, the San Francisco Giants reportedly agreed to terms late Monday night with one of the National League’s leading home run hitters from a season ago.
Free-agent slugger Jorge Soler and the club came to agreement on a three-year deal, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The terms of the deal have yet to be reported, and an official announcement is still pending a physical.
Expected to serve as the regular designated hitter, Soler gives the Giants the potential for the kind of power they have long lacked.
Soler, who turns 32 this month, led Miami with 36 home runs and earned his first All-Star selection in 2023. He was due to make $13 million in 2024 but opted out of the final year of his three-year, $36 million contract.
Throughout 10 seasons with the Cubs, Royals, Braves and Marlins, Soler has shown prodigious power — often at the cost of contact. With Kansas City in 2019, he led the majors with 48 home runs — a career-high — but struck out 178 times, also the most in the majors. Over his career, he has averaged 32 home runs per 162 games while batting .243/.330/.467.
The 30-homer threshold is something only one other member of the Giants lineup, Michael Conforto, can claim. It will have been 20 years this season since Barry Bonds became the last Giants hitter to reach that figure in 2004.
Last season, San Francisco scored the seventh-fewest runs in the majors and ranked 17th in home runs; Wilmer Flores was the only player to reach 20.
While camp officially opens Wednesday, Soler won’t be required to report until Monday, a day before the first scheduled workout for position players.
A number of high-profile free agents remain unsigned, including Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery — all clients of superagent Scott Boras. Soler is represented by MVP Sports Group.