Born February 25, 1992, in Havana, Cuba, Jorge Soler is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder and a free agent. Soler batted 0.304, had a 0.500 on-base percentage, and a 0.522 slugging percentage for the Cuban national baseball team at the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship. He had the second-most walks in the tournament with nine. The bronze medal went to Cuba. Soler also appeared in the Cuban National Series for the Industriales (baseball team in the Cuban National Series).
Jorge Soler playing for the Industriales, a baseball team in the Cuban National Series.
Soler left Cuba in 2011 to seek a baseball career in the United States (MLB). In Haiti, he established himself as a permanent resident. On June 2, 2012, the Office of Foreign Assets Control unblocked Soler, giving him a free agent in MLB. Soler was a free agent who drew interest from several organizations.
The Road to Becoming an MVP
Jorge Soler pictured for the Chicago Cubs.
The Kansas City Royals
On December 7th, 2016, the Cubs exchanged Soler for Wade Davis from the Kansas City Royals. He began 2018 as Kansas City's starting right fielder. But after breaking his toes in mid-June, he had to take a break for the rest of the year. In 61 games, he achieved a .265 batting average with nine home runs. Soler then recovered from the injury in 2019, splitting the time between the right fielder and the designated hitter. He became the record holder for Kansas City on most home runs in a season on September 4th, 2019, after hitting his 40th home run.
The Chicago Cubs
Soler committed to a nine-year, $30 million contract with the Chicago Cubs on June 11th, 2012. It's rumored that the Cubs had agreed to a deal with Soler before being named a free agency. In August of that year, he made his professional debut with the AZL Cubs before being promoted to the Peoria Chiefs.
Jorger Soler for the Kansas City Royals.
In 2019, he hit a .265 batting average and led the American League with 589 home runs, 48 home runs, and 178 strikeouts. His total home runs were the highest ever in a season among Cuban players.
The Atlanta Braves
On July 30th, 2021, Soler was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Casey Karich.
In 2021, he hit Twenty-seven home runs and 70 RBIs (RBIs) with 516 RBIs between the Royals and the Braves. For the Braves, his average home run was 423 feet, which is the longest average home run distance among significant league batters. In his first appearance after staying on the COVID 19 injured list for ten days, Soler managed the lead-off home run World Series in Game 1 of the 2021 World Series ahead of Framber Valdez.
Jorge Soler, the third designated hitter in history to win the World Series MVP Award.
Jorge Soler for the Atlanta Braves.
"It's an incredible moment"
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 3, 2021
Chevy #WorldSeries MVP @solerpower12 is glad he was able to share the championship experience with his family.@jonmorosi I @Braves I #BattleATL pic.twitter.com/D2FkMguDgw