Giants’ surprise Jorge Soler trade should open door for Marco Luciano – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants brought in Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada to help close out the deal for Jorge Soler in February. A few days into training camp, they held a small press conference on a patio at Scottsdale Stadium to introduce a player they believe could clean up for them over the next three seasons.

But it didn’t take long for team officials to get a bad feeling. They thought Soler, who hit 36 ​​home runs in Miami last year, wasn’t comfortable hitting in the cold of Oracle Park, and the power numbers matched those suspicions. As the first half wore on, another thought began to take hold.

Bob Melvin needed the DH position for some of his veterans, and at times the Giants even wanted to give Heliot Ramos a rest by having him focus solely on hitting. However, they had assigned the spot to only one player, and not just for this season.

Late Monday night, the Giants made a deal to clear things up a bit. Soler had been hot the past week, and when the Atlanta Braves called to seek a reunion, the front office saw an opportunity to make a surprise salary dump.

The Giants sent Soler and Luke Jackson back to Atlanta, where they both won the World Series in 2021. In return, they received injured left-handed reliever Tyler Matzek and young infielder Sabin Ceballos, who is more of a middle-of-the-pack prospect.

The deal is mainly about freeing up Soler’s salary, but not just for this season.

The Giants save about $4 million this year, but Soler was eligible for $26 million over the next two seasons, which the Braves will pick up in full. They are also now responsible for Jackson’s contract, which has a team option that will not be picked up, as well as a $2 million buyout.

The move was the first significant one before Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline, and it signals that the Giants may not be entirely set in a direction. Cutting that much salary and your leadoff hitter might seem like a sellout, but that’s not how the Giants see themselves.

They’ve talked to teams about their starting pitchers, including Blake Snell, but as of Monday night, they hadn’t gotten any traction. They don’t expect to trade Snell before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. deadline, though they’re still fielding calls about him and veteran right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb.

If a deal is reached on Tuesday, it would open up a rotation spot for rookie Hayden Birdsong, who would complement the youngsters. The Giants also hope to find a true center fielder, which would allow them to move Ramos back to corner.

They’re ready to rely more on youth, and the Soler move is part of that. The Giants have been looking for a way to erase the at-bats of 22-year-old Marco Luciano, who has six homers and a strong strikeout-to-walk ratio in Triple-A this month. Their plan is to recall Luciano and have him try to stick around this time.

Luciano previously played shortstop in the majors, but the Giants are finally willing to admit that he’s not a good fit for the defense at that position, which is already held by Tyler Fitzgerald. Luciano played second base in the minors, but the staff isn’t entirely happy with the transition. It seems likely that he’ll get most of his second-half at bats at DH if he can get going right away, with others sliding in when they need defensive breaks.

Soler made 91 starts as a DH as a Giant, posting a .749 OPS but only 12 homers. When Soler was introduced in February, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi made a statement that turned out to be prophetic.

“When we were on a Zoom call with Jorge a couple weeks ago, Bob said something about hitting cleanup,” Zaidi said at the time. “And Jorge said, ‘I like hitting leadoff, too.’”

Soler has done well at times in that role, but that’s not why the Giants gave him a three-year deal in the first place. They have plenty of others — Fitzgerald, LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski — who can slot into the top of the lineup, but they were hoping Soler could finally give them a 30-homer presence. Now they’ll see if Luciano is ready to deliver that kind of thunder.

Monday’s deal saves the Giants more than $30 million in total, though it carries some risk. First, it bolsters the lineup of a team they’re chasing in the wild-card race, where they have precious little room for error.

They’re also putting a lot on Luciano’s shoulders, and if any more veterans are traded, they’ll be incredibly reliant on rookies as they chase an MLB playoff spot. Given the way this season has gone, though, that’s a plan that probably doesn’t look too scary to Zaidi and the rest of the front office right now.

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