Braves reunite with two former players in deal with Giants

Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021. Now the San Francisco Giants teammates are both coming back to Atlanta.

Soler led off the 2021 World Series with a home run, hit the go-ahead home run in Game 3 and ended up the series MVP after slugging .800 with three homers and six RBI in Atlanta's 4-2 win. Jackson threw 3.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the series, yielding only a single hit.

After the season, Soler parlayed his big postseason into a big contract with the Miami Marlins. Jackson missed all of the 2022 season after getting Tommy John surgery, then signed with the Giants before the 2023 season. When Soler signed a three-year deal with the Giants before this season, he and Jackson were reunited.

Now they're remaining teammates and returning to Atlanta, who are 8.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East but lead a very close National League wild-card race. With Ronald Acuna Jr. out for the season and center fielder Michael Harris II out for at least two more weeks, Soler provides a desperately-needed outfield bat.

Jackson has struggled to a 5.40 ERA this season in San Francisco, but the Braves may believe his return to Atlanta will get him back on track.

For the Giants, the trade is a sign that they're choosing to save money over trying to climb out of their seventh-place position in the wild-card race. The trade seems to primarily be about dumping the remaining two years and more than $32M left on Soler's deal, plus the roughly $5M owed to Jackson.

The Giants' return is Sabin Ceballos, a 21-year-old third baseman who was ranked as Atlanta's No. 17 prospect by MLB.com, and Tyler Matzek, a reliever who hasn't pitched since May 17. Matzek had Tommy John surgery after the 2022 season and has struggled to a 9.90 ERA this year.

While the Giants are cutting salary and possibly folding their tent, Atlanta is going full-speed ahead. After all, the last time they traded for Soler at the deadline, the Braves won it all.