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.
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San Francisco, CA
Artwork quilt unveiled at San Francisco dirt alley that was mistakenly bought at auction
In the fall of 2025, CBS News Bay Area first brought you the story of a Sunset couple that had the winning bid for a piece of property next to their home. They thought they were getting the duplex next door. Instead, they got a small patch of land known as Dirt Alley.
This story has many chapters, but it ended with a community celebration.
The final chapter in the story of Dirt Alley was written Wednesday night as they unveiled the tiles of artwork on the pavement.
“I’m very happy today,” JJ Hollingsworth said. “It’s just amazing that these artists that I’ve been working with and sold the alley to have come through with this incredible art.”
JJ Hollingsworth was the original property owner. She took out $25,000 from her retirement to pay for this parcel in a city auction. She thought she got a bargain for the duplex next door. When she found out it was actually the alley, the stress led to health problems and a lot of anxiety.
“I’m trying to forget, but I caused all this,” she said. “That’s what happened. I caused all this.”
Then came an email that would help her get out of the Dirt Alley nightmare. A group of friends from San Francisco was interested in buying this 82-foot-long alley.
“I know she was really stressed out when she first bought this and kind of didn’t know what she was going to do with it,” Theo Bleier said. “It’s really lucky. We were going to buy a different parcel, and we lost the auction. It was more than we wanted to spend. We felt really lucky the coincidence worked out, and we were able to help out JJ.”
The new owners then had the idea of laying an artwork quilt on the pavement and took submissions online.
“I think we had about one million people visit the website at least,” owner Patrick Hultquist said. “1.2 million, I think is the number of people that visited the website.”
The tiles with the most votes made it onto what is now called Notion way.
“Now, it’s not an official name of the street. It’s an unofficial name, but we did get an official-looking sign,” he said.
JJ Hollingsworth, who is a music composer, wrote a ballad called Notion Way for the special occasion. What started as a horrible mistake ended up bringing the community together.
“It’s really beautiful,” neighbors Tom Goslinga & Nesha Niezrecki said. “It’s how culture gets created in a lot of ways. People kind of being creative with an interesting situation. It’s really cool.”
While Hollingsworth is grateful for how this story ended, she says she learned a valuable lesson from this whole experience.
“Read the fine print and ask a lot of questions,” she said.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A driver in a car riddled with bullets fled a Marin County Sheriff’s Office deputy at high speeds over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco early Tuesday morning, according to authorities. The suspect, identified as Martin Zuniga Jr., 26, was later located in Novato and arrested.
The deputy first observed the suspect driving at approximately 100 mph on Highway 101 near the Richardson Bay Bridge. After pulling over the car, the deputy “noticed approximately 14 fresh bullet holes in the vehicle,” the sheriff’s office wrote. Zuniga allegedly told the deputy that he had just been involved in a road rage incident near Novato, but he refused to get out of the car and give a statement.
Zuniga “abruptly put the car into drive and fled the scene,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
The pursuit led to the Golden Gate Bridge, where the deputy disengaged due to unsafe speeds across the span, according to authorities. The car was later found abandoned on the streets of San Francisco.
At approximately 6 p.m., detectives located Zuniga in downtown Novato and placed him into custody. The sheriff’s office said at the time of the arrest that he was in possession of a loaded .40-caliber pistol with a high-capacity magazine and suspected cocaine.
Zuniga was booked into the Marin County Jail for:
- Reckless evading
- Violently resisting law enforcement
- Felon in possession of a firearm
- Felon in possession of ammunition
- Addict in possession of a firearm
Anyone with information regarding a shooting or road rage incident in the evening or early morning hours of June 15 and June 16 is asked to contact the Marin County Sheriff’s Office at 415-479-2311.
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