Giants, slugger Soler agree to contract
Free agent outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler has agreed to a $42 million, three-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi was hopeful of upgrading his roster ahead of the start of spring training this week and now will have a slugger to add to new manager Bob Melvin’s lineup.
The 31-year-old from Cuba was a first-time All-Star last season with Miami. He played 137 games, batting .250 with 36 home runs and 75 RBIs. He spent 102 games as the DH.
The games played were third-most in his 10-year big league career with the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City, Atlanta and the Marlins. He appeared in all 162 games for the Royals in 2019 and led the American League with 48 homers.
He was the 2021 World Series MVP for the Braves after hitting .300 with three homers. He also won a championship with the Cubs in 2016.
The Giants hope to contend in the NL West after hiring Melvin from division rival San Diego to replace Gabe Kapler following two straight years missing the playoffs.
Veteran baseball broadcaster Jenny Cavnar is the new primary play-by-play announcer for the Oakland Athletics, hired by NBC Sports California.
Cavnar becomes the first woman to handle primary play-by-play duties in major league history — set to be the voice for most of the A’s games during the upcoming 2024 season.
She has covered baseball for 17 of her 20 years in the media business, most recently calling Colorado Rockies games the past 12 years as a backup play-by-play announcer while also hosting pregame and postgame shows and regional coverage.
She became the first woman in a quarter-century to handle play-byplay for an MLB game in 2018. She is a graduate of Colorado State University.
“It is a dream come true to join the broadcast team for the Oakland A’s and their rich baseball history,” Cavnar said in a statement. “Growing up the daughter of a baseball coach, I have loved the game from a young age, along with the stories, history and relationships the game provides. I’m excited to start my 18th season as a major league broadcaster with my good friend Dallas Braden and share our experiences with the loyal fans of the Athletics as we go on this ride together.”
Tampa Bay Rays reliever Jason Adam failed to become the first player in five years to win a salary arbitration case twice in a row.
Adam was awarded the team’s $2.7 million offer rather than his $3.25 million request. He won last year when he was given his $1,775,000 request instead of the team’s $1.55 million offer.
A 32-year-old right-hander, Adam was 4-2 with a 2.98 ERA and 12 saves in 17 chances over 56 relief appearances last season. He struck out 69 and walked 20 in 54 1/3 innings.
The last players to win hearings in consecutive years were Houston pitcher Collin McHugh in 2017 and ’18, and Cleveland pitcher Trevor Bauer in 2018 and ’19.
Colorado Rockies reliever Daniel Bard will have surgery today to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. There’s no timetable for his return. Bard got hurt last week during a throwing session. He is entering the final season of a $19 million, two-year deal.
“I was playing normal catch stuff and I moved a little awkwardly and I felt something pop,” Bard told the Denver Post.
The right-hander appeared in 50 games last season, going 4-2 with a 4.56 ERA and one save. Bard missed time at the start of the 2023 season due to anxiety.
He signed as a free agent with the Rockies before the 2020 season after missing the previous seven years as he dealt with severe control issues. Those issues resurfaced during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when he had a 43.20 ERA in three appearances for the U.S.
Bard was a first-round pick of Boston in the 2006 amateur draft and made his big league debut in 2009. He had 34 saves in 2022. • Japanese high school baseball star Rintaro Sasaki has signed a national letter of intent to play at Stanford in 2025.
Sasaki will graduate in March from Hanamaki-Higashi High School, the school that produced Shohei Ohtani. Sasaki hit a Japanese high schoolrecord 140 home runs and was projected to be the No. 1 pick in the Nippon Professional Baseball Draft, but decided to go to a U.S. college.
Sasaki has walked twice as many times as he has struck out and has a career batting average of .413, with a .514 on-base percentage and .808 slugging percentage.
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