Will the Atlanta Braves shake things up this winter?
It was a disappointing 2024 season on the whole for the Braves, but a lot of the disappointment could be traced back to injuries. Not many teams could lose Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider, and Austin Riley for the year and still make a playoff run, so Atlanta still has something to hang their hats on.
With Acuña out, the Braves had to scramble to reshape their outfield on the fly this year. But when Acuña returns, all of the other Atlanta outfielders will be pressed for playing time. That includes a former World Series Most Valuable Player and Braves fan-favorite who rejoined the club midseason.
Jorge Soler, who arrived back in Atlanta via trade from the San Francisco Giants in July, looks to be in a precarious position when Acuña returns. Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors named Soler as the most likely Braves player to be traded this winter in a column on Thursday.
“Soler was a clear band-aid for an injury-ravaged lineup but creates an obvious square peg on a roster that also includes Marcell Ozuna. Soler is in many ways Ozuna Lite — a right-handed slugger with prolific power but glaring defensive limitations that relegate him to DH duty,” Adams said.