MLB

MLB Offseason Round-Up: Notes on Jorge Soler, Hector Neris

Published

4 months ago

January 14, 2024

This is one in a series of daily articles highlighting the latest news and notes from the MLB offseason.

The free agent market continues to move at a slower-than-usual pace this MLB offseason, but some rumors are trickling in on a couple of players still on the market.

Outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler is one of the top remaining sluggers still available, and he’s receiving interest from a couple of teams.

According to baseball insider Héctor Gómez, the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox all have interest in the 31-year-old. All three places make sense, especially Toronto. The Blue Jays have been looking for lineup help this winter but came up short in the efforts for a pair of starts in Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) and Juan Soto (Yankees).

Last season with the Miami Marlins, Soler slashed .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs and 75 RBIs in 137 games. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.

Elsewhere, it appears the market for veteran relief pitcher Héctor Neris is picking up steam, with the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers the possible frontrunners to land him, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

Neris, 34, has spent the past two seasons with the Houston Astros after an eight-year run in Philadelphia with the Phillies to begin his career. Last season, the right-hander went 6-3 with a sparkling 1.71 ERA and a pair of saves in 71 appearances.

Since 2016, no relief pitcher has made more appearances than Neris (513). The next closest is Brad Hand, who has made 489 appearances over that span.