San Francisco, CA
Impactful Jorge Soler Makes San Francisco Giants More Dangerous
MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 05: Jorge Soler #12 of the Miami Marlins celebrates in the dugout after … [+]
The addition of Jorge Soler has added a legitimate power source to the San Francisco Giants lineup.
The right-handed hitting Soler, who turns 32 February 25, gives the Giants a power source in the middle of a lineup that is in need of greater run production.
After spending the past two seasons with the Miami Marlins, Soler signed a three-year deal. He will get a $9 million signing bonus, and a $7 million salary for 2024. He will then receive $13 million in each of the 2025, and 2026 seasons.
According to Fangraphs, the addition of Soler brings the Giants estimated 2024 player payroll to $164 million, a decrease of $32 million from last season.
It would seem the Giants still have plenty of salary room to add even more power or offensive improvement to their batting order.
As of this writing, players like Cody Bellinger, Adam Duvall, and J.D. Martinez remain on the free agent market.
TORONTO, CANADA – SEPTEMBER 9: Jorge Soler #68 of the Chicago Cubs during MLB game action against … [+]
About Jorge Soler:
In 2010 and 2011, Jorge Soler played for La Habana in the Cuban National Series, when he was just 17, and 18-years old.
Soler was viewed as the best overall player on the Cuban Bronze Medal Team in the 2010 World Junior Championships.
Soler was unsuccessful in his first attempt to defect from Cuba, but he did succeed in 2011.
Soler signed with the Chicago Cubs as an international free agent in 2012.
Soler was so highly regarded, the Cubs signed him to a nine-year, $30 million contract. His contract included a $6 million bonus.
Soler made his big league debut with the Cubs in August 2014, when he was just 22-years-old.
Even with his outstanding power potential, Soler played only parts of three seasons with the Cubs.
The Cubs traded Soler to the Kansas City Royals on December 7, 2016, getting pitcher Wade Davis in return from the Royals.
On July 30, 2021, the Royals traded Soler to the Atlanta Braves for relief pitcher Kasey Kalich.
Entering free agency at the conclusion of the 2021 season, Soler signed with the Miami Marlins, where he played until he once again reached free agency at the end of this past season.
In parts of 10 big league seasons, Soler has compiled an offensive stat line of .243/.330/.467/.797, with 163 doubles, three triples, 170 home runs, and 452 RBIs in 3,473 plate appearances.
Slow afoot, Soler has stolen only 11 bases in his meager 16 stolen base attempts.
At 6-4, 235 pounds, like many power hitters, strikeouts remain an issue for Soler.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JUNE 14: Jorge Soler #12 of the Miami Marlins reacts after his solo home run … [+]
Soler’s Power:
Jorge Soler will be coming off his final year in Miami, when he hit 36 home runs, and drove in 75 runs in 580 plate appearances.
Last year was his only All Star season.
In his best power season, Soler hit 48 home runs, and drove in 117 runs for the 2019 Kansas City Royals.
Soler was named the 2021 World Series Most Valuable Player, as his Braves defeated the Houston Astros in six games.
In that World Series, Soler hit .300, with three homers, and six RBIs. He was a unanimous choice for MVP.
His postseason success for the Braves, coupled with his outstanding 2023 season with the Marlins, highlight Soler as a true power threat, capable of changing a game with one swing of his bat.
Some analysts believed Soler would earn more than $14 million annually for three years as a free agent. So, some may view the Giants acquisition of Soler as a bargain.
San Francisco Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee speaks during a baseball news conference in San Francisco, … [+]
Projected San Francisco Giants Lineup:
With the Giants, Fangraphs projects Soler to hit in the cleanup spot, and serve as the team’s designated hitter.
Short of an additional offensive player addition, here is the opening day lineup Fangraphs projects for manager Bob Melvin’s Giants:
Jung Hoo Lee-CF
Thairo Estrada-2B
LaMonte Wade Jr.-1B
Jorge Soler-DH
Michael Conforto-LF
Wilmer Flores-3B
Mike Yastrzemski-RF
Patrick Bailey-C
Marco Luciano-SS
MIAMI, FLORIDA – MAY 16: Jorge Soler #12 of the Miami Marlins celebrates walk-off two-run home run … [+]
What Soler Can Mean To The Giants:
When he was signed by the Cubs out of Cuba, at full player skill maturation, Soler was projected to be a Grade 65 player.
A Grade 65 player is a consistent All Star.
A Grade 65 player is among the best in the game in any given year.
Soler has fallen short of that lofty projection.
However, he remains dangerous, as he demonstrated last year with the Miami Marlins.
Soler has the potential to make every hitter in the Giants lineup more impactful.
Soler has the potential to eclipse the 23 homers hit last year by Wilmer Flores, the most on the Giants roster.
Pitchers must now cope with the fact that Soler lurks in the middle of the batting order. His presence may mean hitters like Wade Jr., Conforto, and Flores may see better pitches to hit.
Opposing managers are fond of saying, “Don’t let this guy beat us.” That guy will be Jorge Soler.
To this old scout, because they have added Jung Hoo Lee, and Jorge Soler, the San Francisco Giants are a much more formidable offensive team today than they were when the 2023 season ended.
San Francisco, CA
Tuberculosis outbreak at San Francisco high school halts in-person classes
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A third confirmed active case of tuberculosis is forcing Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco to cancel classes on Friday and halt in-person classes next week. Many sporting events have also been canceled.
Students and teachers are now in the midst of the alarming outbreak.
“Yeah, you know it’s kind of crazy because it reminds me a bit of COVID,” said Julia O’Neill, a student at Riordan High School.
In a letter to families at Riordan, the school president announced that next week, teachers will be posting student assignments online. From February 9-20, the school will move to a hybrid option where students who test negative will be allowed to attend classes on campus.
“I’m okay with it because Riordan is trying their best to make sure that we’re safe,” said freshman Emma O’Neill. “We’re having online school for like a week, so everyone can get their tests, which I think is a really good decision to make.”
MORE: CA seeing surge in norovirus cases. The unexpected way it can spread through your household
School leadership is working with the city’s public health department on contact-tracing. They hope to get everyone tested by February 13.
In addition to the three active TB cases, they’ve already identified 50 cases of latent infection, meaning the individuals are infected but have no symptoms.
As for being worried, the students who spoke with ABC7 News said they feel safe.
“A tiny bit, I know the school has been keeping everyone informed,” said senior Ashling Greene.
The school’s first case of TB was back in November, but then came the holiday break.
MORE: Doctors are ignoring new federal vaccine recommendations
“The problem with TB is it can take a long time to incubate in some people, anywhere from two to 10 weeks,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF. “What might have happened is they checked a lot of back in November, and some people were maybe falsely negative, but it hadn’t incubated yet, and then they got active disease maybe over the holidays.”
Dr. Chin-Hong says there are about 100 cases of TB in San Francisco each year, and that in the U.S., there aren’t enough cases to merit vaccinations.
“You have these three people in the right conditions in a school where students are studying and learning for hours a day in close contact, they’re laughing, talking, singing, playing sports. It can be transferred even more easily than someone living in a household and don’t go out that many places.”
Public health officials plan to reassess test results every eight weeks until the outbreak is deemed over.
If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
Copyright © 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco prepares to celebrate Lunar New Year
San Francisco is preparing to host hundreds of thousands celebrating the Lunar New Year; Thursday, organizers shared their plans for this year’s Chinese New Year parade and festival.
Police shared some of their plans for security preparations for the March parade, at the same time businesses are certainly gearing up in hopes of getting in on the festivities, celebrations and traditions.
At Lion Trading in Chinatown, Lucas Li says the Lunar New Year celebration is an important time for the community and they’re preparing for it.
“I think the most popular thing people come for are our Chinese New Year envelopes, so I think as we welcome the year of the fire horse which is 2026 they are coming to look or these beautiful horse design envelopes,” Li said.
He’s hoping for success and looking forward to the weeks-long celebration starting in mid-February.
“The Lunar New Year I would say is the single largest economic driver for Chinatown every year, small business Chinatown, workers, restaurant look forward to the month long celebration,” said Donald Luu, president of the SF Chinese Chamber of Commerce. “We have a total of 60 floats approximately 70 units different organization, is going to be a huge event.”
The celebration starts in mid-February, with a parade set for March 7. The SFPD says it’s ready to ensure it will be a safe celebration for the tens of thousands who are expected to gather.
“You can expect that you will see a full complement of uniformed officers what we will expecting in terms of specialized units, plain clothes officers, motorcycles, the full gamut of officers to support festivities in this event,” said SFPD Chief Derrick Lew.
“This season is really important to small family-owned businesses like ours because we depend on the support of the community right and we want to promote these traditions for the younger generations,” Li said.
San Francisco, CA
Commerce Department plans national AI center in San Francisco
By Todd Gillespie and Catherine Lucey, Bloomberg
The US Department of Commerce is preparing to open a national artificial-intelligence center in San Francisco, putting it closer to firms at the center of some of the government’s most high-profile initiatives.
In addition to the Bay Area, AI export officials will be based in cities across the US, according to a Commerce official, who asked not to be identified.
The Trump administration is looking to increase the country’s edge in AI and defense, industries that are largely based in California. It also aims to exploit natural resources in the state to increase the nation’s energy independence and bolster its geopolitical leverage.
The president has engaged in recent public spats with California Governor Gavin Newsom — who’s weighing a presidential run — and sought to wield more influence in state matters. In recent weeks, the administration has intervened in key energy projects there, including a hydro-power dam, bans on natural gas and an oil pipeline.
This month, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also announced a key trade deal with Taiwan, with the self-governed island’s technology industry committing to making at least $250 billion in direct investments to expand advanced semiconductor, energy and AI operations in the US.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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