Braves trade for Jorge Soler, reunite with their 2021 World Series MVP

The Braves are reuniting their ties by initiating a trade with the San Francisco Giants to bring back slugger Jorge Soler and reliever Luke Jackson, both key players on the team that won the 2021 World Series.

The Braves sent left-handed reliever Tyler Matzek, who missed most of the season with injuries, and third base/outfield prospect Sabin Ceballos to the Giants in the deal.

Soler has been strictly a DH all season with San Francisco and hasn’t played in the outfield, but he started 31 games in right field for the Marlins last season and is still athletic enough to play the position. The Braves clearly have a DH in All-Star Marcell Ozuna, but didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to add Soler’s bat to an injury-plagued offense that has been inconsistent for much of the season.

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Giants trade Jorge Soler, Luke Jackson, but bigger sale not expected

Though Soler has hit a modest .240 with 12 homers and a .749 OPS in 93 games for the Giants, the Braves acquire him amid a hot streak in which he has batted .312 with eight extra-base hits (two homers), eight RBIs and a whopping 15 walks in his last 17 games for a .447 OBP and .972 OPS over that span. He is owed $13 million in each of the next two seasons. Ozuna is signed only for this season, with a $16 million team option for 2025 and a $1 million buyout.

The Braves traded Soler from Kansas City at the 2021 trade deadline for a bumper return. After arriving in Atlanta, he had 14 homers and an .882 OPS in 55 regular-season games to help the Braves come from behind to win the NL East, then went on to win the World Series MVP after hitting .300 with three homers and a 1.191 OPS in the six-game series against the Houston Astros. That came after missing most of the NLCS after testing positive for COVID-19.

Jackson, 32, played five seasons with the Braves through 2021, when he had his best year with a 1.98 ERA in 71 appearances, making 11 postseason appearances, including three winless World Series appearances. He has struggled this season with a 5.40 ERA in 36 appearances and has a $7 million team option for 2025 with a $2 million buyout.

Matzek was wildly popular among Braves fans in 2021 after his iconic performance in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, the most dramatic of his 11 scoreless outings in 13 appearances that postseason, when he posted a 1.72 ERA with 24 strikeouts and four walks in 15 2/3 innings.

He missed the 2022 postseason and all of 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and suffered a series of related setbacks this year that limited him to 11 early-season starts with a 9.90 ERA. Matzek hasn’t pitched since May 4.

Ceballos, 21, is a 6-3, 225-pound prospect whose athleticism, bat-to-ball skills and raw power make him an intriguing prospect. He had 18 homers and a 1.069 OPS for the University of Oregon in 2023 before the Braves drafted him in the third round, but hasn’t matched that collegiate power in High A, posting a .353 OBP and 24 extra-base hits (three homers) in 377 plate appearances. Atlanta has third baseman Austin Riley under contract through 2032.

(Photo by Jorge Soler from June 3: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)