The Angels have decided Jorge Soler’s time in Anaheim is over.
According to multiple reports, the club designated the veteran slugger for assignment Tuesday, a day after the front office made it clear the deadline would be about turning the page. Soler, 34, had been hitting .203/.291/.373 this season, and the numbers got rougher after he returned from a left oblique strain that kept him on the injured list for most of June. In 28 games back, he hit just .167/.271/.314 and struck out 42 times.
The move has not been officially announced yet, and the corresponding roster move is still unknown. But the message behind it is obvious: Soler was never going to be part of the next Angels team. He’s a free agent after the season, and the club’s deadline activity showed interim GM John Mozeliak is locked on what comes next.
That deadline haul was substantial. Mozeliak was given the go-ahead to deal pitchers Ryan Zeferjahn, Kirby Yates, Chase Silseth, Jose Soriano and Brent Suter, catcher Logan O’Hoppe and outfielder Jo Adell. In return, shortstop Arjun Nimmala and catcher Moises Ballesteros, both Top-100 prospects entering the 2026 season, were the headliners.
Earlier Tuesday, the Angels also moved their 2025 first-round pick, pitcher Tyler Bremner, up to Double-A Rocket City as part of a wave of promotions.
Soler’s run with the Angels began in October 2024, when he came over in the trade that sent pitcher Griffin Canning to the Atlanta Braves. From the start, it was a bumpy fit. He’d been mostly a designated hitter since 2019, when he launched a career-high 48 home runs for the Kansas City Royals, but Anaheim needed him in right field for the final months of 2025 after Mike Trout came back from the injured list and was limited to hitting duties.
The bat and the glove both gave the Angels problems. Soler finished his first season in Anaheim with a .680 OPS and a 91 OPS+, and he played only 82 games after missing time with low back inflammation.
A move back to DH in 2026 at least gave him a cleaner lane, and he opened the year well. Through 34 games, he had 28 RBIs batting behind a healthy Trout and posted an .818 OPS.
Even that brighter stretch was interrupted. Soler also missed time in April because of a suspension tied to a benches-clearing incident with Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, who used to pitch for the Angels.
If Soler is not claimed by another team, the Angels will be on the hook for a pro-rated share of his $9 million salary this season, which works out to roughly $3 million.
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Angels Deadline Bullpen Trade Puts The Return Under A Harsh Spotlight
The deadline bullpen shuffle sent Kirby Yates to Pittsburgh as the Pirates kept adding relief help, joining Camilo Doval, Luke Weaver and Lake Bachar in a flurry of moves designed to deepen the late-inning mix. For the Angels, the deal stands out because Yates had been a veteran presence with real closing experience, and his recent uptick made him one of the more notable arms moved in a deadline market that valued certainty in the bullpen.
What remains under the microscope now is the return, especially with the player coming back carrying a winding year of his own. Kyle Robinson has already been traded twice this season and has bounced through multiple minor league levels, which gives the Angels a developmental project rather than an immediate answer. In a deal like this, the long view matters, but so does the pressure to show there is something tangible in the pipeline after moving a reliever with Yatess resume. [Read more 🡒]