ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves brought back two members of the team's 2021 World Series run -- including the World Series MVP -- and sent another out in a trade with San Francisco.
The Braves announced Monday night they'd brought back outfielder Jorge Soler, who hit .300 with three home runs in six games en route to winning World Series MVP in 2021, and reliever Luke Jackson in the deal.
Outgoing was Tyler Matzek -- himself a postseason hero that year, who helped the Braves steer out of one of their most perilous moments in the NLCS against the Dodgers. Also included was minor league infielder Sabin Ceballos.
The Braves also designated right hander Darius Vines for assignment as part of the transaction.
Soler, whose towering home run in the third inning of Game 6 in 2021 sent the Braves on their way to clinching the series, signed with the Miami Marlins after that season and then with San Francisco prior to this season. He's hitting .240/.330/.419 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs so far this year. He hit 36 home runs in Miami last year.
Jackson, meanwhile, has a 5.40 ERA in 35 innings after he recorded a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 innings last year.
Matzek returned this year after missing all of 2023 but only pitched briefly in April and May before he was re-injured. His work to get the Braves out of a seventh-inning jam in Game 6 of the NLCS, which the Braves ultimately won to reach the World Series, was one of the iconic moments of that postseason run.
On X, Matzek's wife Lauren posted a thank-you message to Braves fans.
The trade Monday night is the latest get-the-band-back-together move by the Braves, after they'd already previously signed Eddie Rosario -- the 2021 NLCS MVP -- after he was released by the Washington Nationals earlier this month.
The Braves still have further time to reinforce a team that's been hard-hit this season by injuries, with the MLB trade deadline looming Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. ET.