How Jorge Soler became the worst investment of Angels' offseason

While the Angels' signing of Yusei Kikuchi has given their rotation a quality starter and been worth every penny, the same can not be said for Jorge Soler. As the biggest acquisiton alongside Kikuchi, Soler's 2025 season in Anaheim has been one that every party likely wishes they could forget. And while not every reason for the let-down of a season lies on Soler, it leads fans and media to wonder if this will be the only season that Soler calls The Big A home.

When the Angels traded for Soler, it seemed low-risk enough. They sent out Griffin Canning, a pitcher who everyone agreed had likely pitched his best baseball in Anaheim and needed a change of scenery. To make this deal even worse, Canning turned in an exceptional season for the New York Mets (after being waived by the Atlanta Braves). Canning had posted a 3.77 ERA before suffering a torn Achilles tendon. That number is better than any season Canning spent in Anaheim, showing that maybe the Angels did give up just a smidge too early.

How Jorge Soler became the worst investment of Angels' offseason

The starting point for all of this lies with Soler's games played. After playing around 140 games the past two years, Soler currently sits at 82 games for the 2025 season. And given that he is unlikely to return from the injured list this season, it will be the first time since 2022 that Soler does not crack 100 games. And while Mike Trout's own injury forced Soler into playing right field and increasing the wear and tear on his own body, him not being able to consistently be in the lineup was the beginning of the end.

When he was in the lineup, Soler was just not his usual self. His batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage were all the worst of his career for any season where he played in half of the games. The same goes for Soler's average exit velocity and hard hit percentage, showing the veteran may be over the hill offensively. For most of his career, Soler's power production was strong enough to ignore his high strikeout rates and low walk rates. Now, however, he has turned into a net negative offensive player while contributing nothing defensively at designated hitter (or worse, having to play defense).

So while not all of this lies on Soler, his inability to produce at the plate has Angels fans wondering if there are other teams that Perry Minasian may be able to pawn the veteran off to this off season.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout