Jorge Soler was relaxing away from baseball Monday when he received word that the Giants were dealing him to the Atlanta Braves before the 2024 MLB trade deadline.
The 11-year MLB veteran was gaming when San Francisco manager Bob Melvin called to let him know he was heading Southeast, via an exclusive article published Wednesday by The Atlantic Journal-Constitution’s Justin Toscano.
“And it kind of hit me as I was playing,” Soler told Toscano. “I was like, ‘Oh man, I just got traded!’ ”
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Soler told Toscano that he continued gaming after hearing he was headed to Atlanta. Whether he was playing “MLB: The Show” or EA’s “College Football 25,” or something else was unknown.
Soler wasn’t alone during the relatively hilarious trade process, as he was dealt to the Peach State with pitcher Luke Jackson.
Two former Braves, Soler and Jackson were excited to return to what they consider “home.”
The trip there, though, was not all sunshine and rainbows.
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“Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson traveled together -- and for a lot longer than they expected,” Toscano wrote. “Their flight out of San Francisco was delayed twice and ended up departing around six hours after it was expected to take off.
“They went to Starbird Chicken at San Francisco International Airport – twice. And after they landed in Chicago, a chauffeur drove them to Milwaukee.”
Soler and Jackson ultimately made it to Atlanta and already made their debuts. It just took the two -- separated by a language barrier -- spending all day together.
“I’ve never been so close to him,” Soler told Toscano about Jackson, through interpreter Franco García. “I’ve never spent so much time with him.”
The two newly bonded travel brothers will have the rest of their Braves tenures to get to know each other more.
Perhaps Soler and Jackson could connect more by playing video games on PlayStation.