The Atlanta Braves have been called cheap more than once by most fans over the past few years (including many bloggers), but when the Braves decide to spend money, they make bold moves, or at least attempt to make bold moves. Cuban outfielder (and defector) Jorge Soler, was recently signed by the Chicago Cubs for $30 million. Now, according to Peter Gammons, Atlanta barely lost out to the Cubs in acquiring the talented 20-year old outfielder:
The Braves were right there with the Cubs @$30M on Jorge Soler, with the White Sox and Yankes between $25M and the Cubs @ $30M
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) June 15, 2012
Soler is the kind of player this new Braves regime covets -- a five-tool outfielder with plus speed, a plus arm, and a good bat with the ability to hit for more power in the future. For now, though, we'll have to watch how he does in the Cubs system.
But this is a good sign for Braves fans. Soler is a bit of a high-risk player, but he has the potential to be a high-reward player as well. This is the kind of player the Braves selected repeatedly in last week's draft. It's also good news that the Braves were willing to spend some money to acquire high end talent.
The MLB trade deadline is a month and a half away, stay tuned...