Angels acquire slugger Jorge Soler from Braves in first trade of offseason

The Los Angeles Angels have acquired outfielder Jorge Soler from the Atlanta Braves in a trade for right-hander Griffin Canning.

The teams announced the deal Thursday.

Soler has been a productive power hitter for five teams over the previous 11 major league seasons. The Cuban slugger was the MVP of the 2021 World Series with the Braves, and he also won a ring with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.

He led the AL in homers with the Kansas City Royals in 2019 when he hit a career-high 48. He made his first All-Star team with the Miami Marlins in 2023.

Soler has two years left on the three-year, $42 million contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants earlier this year. The Giants traded Soler to Atlanta on July 29 for his second stint with the Braves.

He had 21 homers and 64 RBIs with a .780 OPS last season with the Braves and Giants. One year earlier, he hit 36 homers for Miami.

Canning is an Orange County native and a former second-round draft pick who has been part of the Angels’ starting rotation for the past six years when healthy. He won a Gold Glove in 2020 but missed the entire 2022 season with a back injury.

Canning went 6-13 with a 5.19 ERA while making a career-high 32 starts last season for the Angels, who finished with the worst record in franchise history.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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