How Jorge Soler looked in first spring start and how the Marlins’ roster is shaping up
Talk about a first impression.
Jorge Soler didn’t waste any time showing the impact he can have on the Miami Marlins’ lineup.
Soler, who signed a three-year, $36 million deal and reported to camp on Tuesday, went 3 for 4 with two runs scored in his first spring training game with the club on Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals, serving as the leadoff hitter while playing in left field. This included two hits in the first inning alone.
“He’s really good,” first baseman/designated hitter Jesus Aguilar said earlier this week.
But Soler’s work wasn’t done there. After leaving the game in the middle of the fifth inning, following his fourth at-bat, Soler made his way to a back field at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex to do a round of defensive drills.
“My goal is always every day to get better,” Soler said. “I understand my defense is not the top of my game, so I will continue to keep working on my defense. That way I can help the team in any way I can.”
The Marlins hope Soler’s dedication to his craft — and his big impact bat — will provide a needed spark once the regular season begins on April 8 against the San Francisco Giants. Soler was the fourth key position player addition the Marlins made this offseason, following their signing of outfielder Avisail Garcia and trades for infielder Joey Wendle and catcher Jacob Stallings.
He gives the Marlins four power-hitting righties in the lineup along with Garcia, Jesus Aguilar and Garrett Cooper (the latter two of whom are likely going to split time between first base and designated hitter). The likes of Jesus Sanchez in center field, Wendle or Brian Anderson at third base, Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base, Miguel Rojas at shortstop and Stallings at catcher round out the projected starters.
“This adds a different dynamic to the lineup,” Cooper said.
How so? Consider what the Marlins did on Saturday.
Soler and Cooper were the top two hitters followed by Sanchez. Two power-hitting righties followed by a power-hitty lefty.
Garcia and Aguilar were Nos. 4 and 5 followed by Wendle. Two righties followed by a lefty.
Rojas and Stallings then followed at Nos. 7 and 8 in the order with Chisholm rounding out the group. Two righties followed by the lefty Chisholm, who started 97 games batting either first or second last season and just 17 at any other spot in the lineup and nowhere below sixth.
“That,” Chisholm said, “means we have a lot of sticks in the lineup. I’ll be the guy at the bottom that racks them in. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me. If I’m in the lineup, I’m happy.”
That seems to be the general consensus among the clubhouse. Maximizing production is the key, so players have no qualms moving around in the batting order and rotating spots in the field if it means the greater goal — winning and contending for a playoff spot — gets closer to fruition.
“It’s kind of a different lineup than you see usually,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Not anymore because it’s starting to be that way more and more, when you think about that guy getting that extra at-bat. ... We’ll have some decisions to make on that part of it, but it seemed to work last year for Atlanta.”
Soler knows that well. He batted leadoff in 11 of 55 regular-season games for the Braves after being traded to Atlanta midseason, posting a .908 on-base-plus slugging in those games — his highest mark for any given spot in the lineup during his stint with the Braves. He was also the leadoff hitter in five of 11 playoff games.
Soler said he’s comfortable in that role. Mattingly said it could be a regular feature.
“If it works,” Mattingly said, “there’s no reason not to do it.”
Regardless of where he factors into the lineup order, the Marlins hope Soler’s presence is felt.
The 30-year-old is a career .246 hitter over eight MLB seasons with 307 runs scored, 343 RBI and 121 home runs — 83 of which have come over the last three seasons. He led the American League with 48 home runs in 2019 while with the Kansas City Royals and hit 14 homers in 55 games with the Atlanta Braves to close out the 2021 regular season after being dealt by Kansas City at the trade deadline.
He spent the first four days since reporting to camp working on the back fields, getting a slew of live at-bats and working on his conditioning to make sure his legs were ready for when he began playing the outfield and running the bases in a live game.
Soler went to work quickly. He led off the game Saturday with a hard-hit groundball down the third base line that could have gone for extra bases if not for a diving play by Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado. Soler settled for a single but made his way to second on a Cooper single through the left side and scored on a Sanchez single through the right side. About 15 minutes later, Soler was back up to bat and got his second hit of the inning on a flare that fell into shallow center field.
He added a third hit in the fourth with a single to right and went first to home on Cooper’s line-drive double to right. Soler also played four innings in the field, tracking down a pair of routine fly balls.
“The legs are ready,” Soler said. “After the sprint, I was a little bit tired, but my legs are ready.”
This and that
▪ The Marlins on Saturday optioned catchers Nick Fortes and Alex Jackson, first baseman Lewin Diaz and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to Triple A Jacksonville.
De La Cruz was the biggest news of the four, since it appeared he would be the frontrunner to be the Marlins’ fourth outfielder.
But with the likes of Anderson and Jon Berti able to play outfield in addition to Soler, Garcia and Sanchez, the Marlins feel it’s best for De La Cruz to start the season in the minors so he gets regular playing time.
As for the catchers, Payton Henry is in line to be the Marlins’ backup catcher behind Jacob Stallings although nothing is set in stone there yet.
“We haven’t made that decision yet,” Mattingly said. “There are other guys in camp.”
Those other guys: Non-roster invitees Lorenzo Quintana and Willians Astudillo.
▪ Dylan Floro, who finished last season as the Marlins’ closer, is “a little behind” with his throwing program while he deals with arm soreness, Mattingly said.
”We’ll have some questions with his ramp us,” Mattingly said. “He’s throwing ... but we’re not quite sure when he’s going to be ready.”
When asked if Floro will be ready for Opening Day, Mattingly said, “We’ll have to see how that goes.”
▪ Right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera, ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 34 overall prospect, will soon appear either on a back field or in a Grapefruit League game, Mattingly said.
“He was a little bit behind,” Mattingly said. “We didn’t feel good about getting him out there. I don’t know the number of innings he’s going to end up getting before he leaves. We weren’t sure how he was going to walk in.”
▪ While pitcher Max Meyer remains in camp, it’s doubtful he will play in another Grapefruit League game. There’s an innings crunch with only eight spring training games left and Meyer built up to throw five-plus innings already.
.JPG)