Kansas City Royals: Patience is key for Jorge Soler

The Kansas City Royals traded for outfielder Jorge Soler this past offseason. So far, the trade is not looking good for the Royals, as Soler has not been productive whatsoever while former closer Wade Davis is dealing in Chicago.

Last season, Kansas City Royals fans began to see a slight decline in closer Wade Davis. His velocity looked down and he wasn’t nearly as dominant as he had been in 2014 and 2015. Now let it be known that Davis was still very good, but he had landed on the disabled list twice in 2016.

In the middle of the 2016 season, the KC Royals were looking to trade Wade Davis, but right before anything serious could happen, Davis re-injured himself and was unable to be traded. Fans were a little bummed that they didn’t get anything in return, but happy that he’d be staying a Royal for the rest of the season.

When the offseason began, the biggest buzz surrounded Dayton Moore wanting to trade Davis somewhere. Eventually he and Theo Epstein of the Cubs agreed on a one-for-one deal, which sent Davis to Chicago and brought outfielder Jorge Soler to Kansas City.

Immediately, the Cubs appeared to have the better end of the deal, as Davis was an established major league closer. Soler, on the other hand, was a backup outfielder with the ability to hit for power, but there just wasn’t a place for him on the Cubs roster.

Soler also had four years of control and was only 24 years old. The Royals could potentially have him during the prime of his career, which was huge, considering they’d be losing a significant amount of talent following the 2017 season.

Well, the Jorge Soler era didn’t get off to a great start in Kansas City. He had a miserable spring training and then had an oblique strain that landed him on the disabled list to start the season.

Jorge Soler is going to take some time to produce at the plate and might not become a reliable factor until late next season or even later.

When Soler finally got healthy and joined the Royals, things didn’t get much better. He was striking out at an alarming rate, not hitting for power, and worst of all, couldn’t field to save his life. He nearly cost the Royals a game against the Orioles because he decided to dive for a ball in the outfield. He did that TWICE. Just stupid, man.

The Kansas City Royals had called Jorge Bonifacio up just as another outfielder to have in the early weeks of the season. The plan was probably to send Bonifacio back to Omaha once Soler was healthy, but Bonifacio never slowed down. In fact, he’s still one of the best hitters on the team.

Bonifacio’s power at the plate made it impossible for the Royals to keep him out of the lineup. With Alex Gordon manning left field and Lorenzo Cain policing center field, only right field remained as an option. Soler wasn’t batting well enough to be the designated hitter.

With that in mind, the Royals couldn’t afford to leave Soler on the bench. He’s now in Triple-A and getting consistent at bats.

More from Kansas City Royals

Royals fans are going to complain about this trade for the rest of the season and that’s not a shocker. Fans want to see immediate results when their team makes a trade like this, but sometimes that’s not the initial plan.

Yes, it’s tough to see Wade Davis pitch like Wade Davis of old in Chicago while Jorge Soler is batting .164 with one home run and taking batting practice in Omaha.

I’ll remind fans, however, that this deal wasn’t made for this season. Jorge Soler is going to take some time to produce at the plate and might not become a reliable factor until late next season or even later. The Cubs, meanwhile, only have Davis for this season unless they choose to re-sign him.

It’s been rough watching Jorge Soler struggle, but in the end, patience is key for this particular trade. Soler could be the perfect candidate to DH in the future, but he has to get more at bats and feel more comfortable at the plate.

Trying to add power guys to a KC Royals team is puzzling considering how big Kauffman Stadium is, but you can’t blame Dayton Moore for wanting to try to get something out of Jorge Soler. He still has three years remaining on his contract and could wind up becoming that true power hitter that the Royals need.

Do you think Jorge Soler will get it together soon or will it be another year or two?

Home/Kansas City Royals