Jorge Soler opts out of his contract

All-Star Jorge Soler will exercise his opt-out and become a free agent

Jorge Soler has officially informed the Marlins that he will exercise his opt-out of the final year of his 3-year contract with Miami. Most people were not surprised by this, as Soler is coming off a 36 home run season and his first All-Star appearance.

Soler has had a career full of injuries since debuting nearly a decade ago with the Cubs in 2014. When Soler is on the field, he displays some of the best raw power in MLB, and he reminded baseball fans of his power in 2023, finishing 12th in home runs.

Jorge Soler started off his Marlins career on a rough note in 2022, only playing in 72 games due to multiple IL stints. Thankfully, Soler lived up to his contract in 2023, recording a .853 OPS in 504 ABs

If Soler opted into his contract, he would’ve made just 9 million dollars in 2024, which is not much compared to what he can get from other teams in free agency. The Marlins have until Monday to offer him the qualifying offer of 20 million dollars. If he declines the offer, the Marlins get a draft pick, and Soler officially enters free agency.

Soler will likely seek a contract for around 2-4 years worth 15-18 million dollars per year. With Soler’s fielding struggles and injury history, it’ll be interesting to see how many teams offer a long-term deal to Soler.

Two options that the Marlins could consider to replace Soler are Jason Heyward and Adam Duvall. Heyward is coming off an unexpected resurgence with the Dodgers, recording a .813 OPS in his age-34 season. Meanwhile, Adam Duvall could possibly return to the Marlins after being traded to Atlanta at the 2021 deadline. Duvall continued to put up good power numbers in 2023, hitting 21 home runs in 320 ABs with the Red Sox.

Here are some other outfield/DH options that the Marlins could look at:

David Peralta

Randal Grichuk

J.D. Martinez

Michael Brantley