Jorge Soler has been a potent if inconsistent slugger for the better part of a decade. Thearon W. Henderson / Getty ImagesAug. 4, 2026 Updated 3:49 pm EDTThe Los Angeles Angels announced Tuesday that they had designated outfielder and DH Jorge Soler for assignment, one day after being unable to move him at the trade deadline. If another team doesn’t claim him and the prorated total of his $16 million salary, which is the likeliest outcome, he’s expected to be released and become a free agent.While Soler, 34, has struggled in 2026, with a .664 OPS and just 12 home runs in 361 plate appearances, the Angels had hoped that the deadline frenzy for right-handed outfield help would make him more attractive to suitors. The supply was so low and the demand so high that even the Dodgers were considering selling to take advantage of the market. In spurts, Soler can look like his old self, with a .791 OPS in April and an .881 OPS in June, when he missed time with an oblique strain.
When Soler is cold, though, he’s frozen. He posted a .571 OPS in May and a .522 mark since the start of July, and his strikeout rate keeps climbing. And while he’s technically still considered an outfielder, with nine games in right field this season, he’s very much a designated hitter whose glove should be kept in a glass case.At his peak, Soler was an All-Star who once led the American League in home runs; he was named the World Series MVP in 2021 after hitting three home runs for Atlanta in the Fall Classic.This is the final year of a three-year, $42 million contract Soler signed with the San Francisco Giants in February 2024, and he’s been traded twice since then. The Giants sent him to the Braves just five months after signing him, and the Braves traded him to the Angels just three months after that.
