Projected Angels lineup puts lot of faith in slugger that can't stay on the field

The Los Angeles Angels traded for Jorge Soler on Halloween, 2024, and at the time, it looked like they were getting a steal. Going out was Griffin Canning, a disappointing former top pitching prospect who struggled to stay healthy and consistent. Coming in, he was an imperfect player, but one with a lot of strengths that could've helped the Angels.

Soler, throughout his career, had been a three-true-outcomes player, with 30-plus homer power, a career walk rate north of 10%, and a penchant for striking out. He was more or less a DH-only option, but he would add some much-needed thunder and patience to the lineup, cost almost nothing to acquire, and was signed to a cheap deal. However, the Angels received none of his virtues and got a heavy dose of his warts in 2025, with the veteran slugger batting just .215/.293/.387 with a 29.8% strikeout rate over just 82 games.

The Mike Trout experiment in right field didn't last long, and the face of the franchise quickly needed to move to DH in order to preserve his health. That led to Soler getting a lot more run in the outfield, creating a situation where a balky back ultimately ended his season prematurely.

Now the Halos have to grapple with his presence on the roster for one more year, hoping for a rebound while putting him in a less-than-ideal situation as the presumptive starting left fielder following Taylor Ward's departure. That's created a situation where some lineup predictions have them betting big on a return to form, with Soler expected to hit cleanup.

Bleacher Report's projected Angels' opening day lineup sees the club betting big on a return to form from Jorge Soler

Soler will be 34 on opening day, making the chronic back issues appear that much worse, and the idea of playing him in left field all the more dangerous. The Angels were a disaster defensively last season, and their failure to adequately address this shortcoming has created this situation where they know they'll have a statue in left field, while also further jeopardizing Soler's health.

That puts an offensive rebound at risk, and with Ward gone, there's a vacuum in the lineup that only a vintage performance from Soler can fill. Trying to pick through the underlying data to project whether a bounce-back is likely is hard because it tells us some contradictory things.

As much as one would think the back issues bothered him, Soler posted well-above-average bat speed coming in at an average of 74 miles per hour in 2025, though that was a tick below the 93rd percentile mark he posted in 2024 at 75.4 miles per hour. He still barreled balls up at an impressive clip, posting a 12.8% barrel rate that was nearly identical to 2024's 12.6% mark. However, he saw some drop-offs in his overall hard-hit rate and average exit velocity, which produced an xSLG of .387, identical to his actual SLG, and a far cry from his .463 xSLG in 2024.

Overall, having the offseason to heal could bode well, but it's tough to look at the numbers and say it's a guarantee he'll return to his past form as a feared slugger. What is certain is that he will be a porous defender whose aging body will be taxed by playing the outfield nearly every day.

The biggest thing this projection highlights is how quickly the Angels' lineup thins out. After Zach Neto at the top, you have the mystery case of Nolan Schanuel, the hopes that Mike Trout can summon some of his past glory, and then Soler has the best option to hit cleanup. Even with Jo Adell's power outburst last season, he's still not well-rounded enough to be relied upon, while Logan O'Hoppe needs a reset, Yoan Moncada is a complementary piece, and second base is anyone's guess.

This is a questionable lineup, and although there's some potential that certain players could take a step forward, it will take multiple components either reaching their potential or returning to past norms to envision this as an above-average group. That doesn't seem to be a wise bet to make.