Miami Marlins are better off without Jorge Soler

Last month the Miami Marlins lost DH Jorge Soler to the San Francisco Giants in free agency. According to the slugger himself, The Fish never even reached out to extend him. This was a bit surprising as at that time the team hasn't even signed any free agents. The latter changed very shortly after that however. Did Peter Bendix just not want Soler back? Or was it the money?

Be glad that the Miami Marlins let Jorge Soler go.

I've noticed that there's a mixed reaction on social media to Jorge Soler leaving the Miami Marlins. Soler batted .250/.341/.512, with 36 home runs and 75 RBI, in 137 games and 504 AB. It looks great, but he was only worth 1.8 WAR. He was also worth a terrible -1.5 dWAR. These days, teams often prefer to rotate players through the DH spot to rest them. Soler is terrible in the field and is a massive liability there. He is best at being a full-time DH.

It gets worse, Jorge Soler is incredibly inconsistent and injury prone. In his 10 year Major League career, he only topped 100 games 4 times. Even if we exclude the shortened 2020 season, that's still only 4 out of 9 seasons. In his two seasons with the Miami Marlins, he played 72 games in 2022 and 137 in 2023.

Soler's inconsistency is well-known too. .249/.326/.424 from 2014-2018; .265/.354/.569 in 2019; .219/.312/.425 from 2020-2022. You just don't know what you'll get from him on any given season. He was good in his contract year in 2023, second half of 2021 contract year and in 2019. He almost had to save his career in 2019, as he looked close to a non-tender candidate prior to that season.

You can't expect Jorge Soler to stay healthy or productive. As a result, giving him 3 years just doesn't make any rational sense. The San Francisco Giants will regret the contract and Peter Bendix was smart to not give him one. The issue is replacing his 2023 production, NOT bringing this unreliable player back. The Miami Marlins are better off without Jorge Soler.