Soler confirms he won't be back for rest of '22

MIAMI – Though Jorge Soler made his long-awaited return to the Marlins clubhouse on Monday morning, don’t expect to see him back on the field before the season ends.

“I don't think I'll be back this year,” Soler said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “It's really hard. You try your best, you continue to work hard. You play through the pain, and it's something that you have to work on getting better. I've been trying my best to get better, and you don't see the successes there. It's just a continuous effort.”

Soler, who has been on the injured list with lower back spasms since July 23, recently had his rehab transferred to Miami from Jupiter, Fla., where he had been completing baseball activities -- including taking batting practice on the field on Aug. 29 and hitting in a sim game on Sept. 3.

"Soli's kind of been a little bit 'feel 100 percent, feel 100 percent, feel a little something, feel 100 percent, feel 100 percent, feels a little something,'" Marlins manager Don Mattingly said on Saturday. "It seems like [a return this season] is probably out the window, too."

The 30-year-old Soler becomes the second injured Marlins player whose anticipated absence through the remainder of the season has been confirmed. On Saturday, Mattingly and general manager Kim Ng revealed that All-Star second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has been sidelined since June 29 with a stress fracture in his back, won’t return in 2022.

Miami inked Soler, the reigning World Series MVP, to a $12 million deal on March 22 during the early part of Spring Training. Asked whether the quick ramp-up might’ve led to the first back issues of his career, Soler wasn’t sure.

“I had several injuries in different parts of my body but never my back, so this is something new for me,” Soler said. “I can’t do pretty much anything. I try my best, I move around, but it's my back.”

The organization hoped Soler and Avisaíl García, who signed a four-year, $53 million deal, would provide much-needed middle-of-the-order pop for a club with aspirations of contending. Instead, the Marlins are 57-82 and fourth in the NL East, having gone 14-34 in the second half. The offense went a stretch of 16 consecutive games scoring three runs or fewer, the longest since the 1960s.

Soler was limited to 72 games this season, thanks to two stints on the IL – the first from June 29-July 14 with bilateral pelvic inflammation. Despite that, he still ranks second in homers (13) and third in RBIs (34) on the club. García, who has missed time with left hamstring issues, has struggled with a 64 OPS+.

“It was not the ideal season for any of us, not for me, not for the whole team,” said Soler, who had been on pace for a 30-homer season. “We didn't prove the expectation that everybody was actually waiting for. We just have to keep working hard and work for the next season.”

Soler will rehab at loanDepot park for the next three to four weeks to strengthen his core and see what activities he can start doing. His contract includes player options for 2023 ($15 million) and ‘24 ($9 million).

"I haven't thought about it yet,” Soler said. “My agent and I have not thought about it."