Soler's suspension for charging mound reduced from 7 games to 4
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A seven-game suspension handed down to Angels outfielder Jorge Soler last week was reduced to four games on Wednesday, when Soler will begin serving the suspension. He'll remain out until Sunday, when the Angels will close out a three-game set with the Padres.
The original ruling was in response to a benches-clearing incident involving multiple players from the Braves and Angels during their April 7 game at Angel Stadium. It comes at a tough time for Soler, as he's batted .280 with four homers, two doubles and 10 RBIs over his last seven games.
"I don't feel good," Soler said through interpreter Jobel Jiménez. "I feel sad because the way the team is playing right now. We're on a good track, and it’s a shame to not be part of the team right now."
Soler homered off Reynaldo López in his first at-bat of that game, then was hit by a pitch his second time up. The two stared at each other after a high pitch in the fifth inning of Atlanta's 7-2 win, then Soler charged the mound and threw punches at López, who countered with a few of his own, though neither player seemed to connect on anything too solid.
López reached a settlement with MLB, reducing his suspension to five games.
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López was still holding the baseball in one hand as he threw punches with the other and knocked off Soler’s helmet with the ball still in his hand. Both benches then cleared with a melee breaking out down the first-base line.
Soler, who was in good spirits after the game, said that López said something to him after the pitch that prompted the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder to charge the mound and go after the 6-foot-1, 225-pound López.
“I asked him if everything was OK and the answer he gave me, I didn’t like it,” Soler said through interpreter Jobel Jiménez. “That’s why I went out there.”
Soler and López, who were briefly teammates in the second half of the 2024 season with the Braves, were both thrown out of the game as a result.
Soler has had immense career success against López, with his two-run homer in the first making him a career 14-for-23 hitter with five homers and three doubles against his former teammate. López's plunking of Soler with a 2-1 fastball in the third inning registered at 96 mph.
“Obviously, I have good numbers against him,” Soler said. “After the home run and getting hit by a pitch after that, and then he missed way too high and close to my head. At this level, you can’t miss like that.”