The Angels have designated outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler for assignment. The Halos surely explored ways to try to trade Soler before moving to cut him, but it’s been a brutal year for the former AL home run leader. He’s still swinging hard, but his contact rate has tanked, and when he does make contact, he’s not hitting the ball with the same authority he did even two or three years ago. “When he does make contact” is a notable caveat, too; Soler has the third-worst overall contact rate in baseball (65.7%) among players with 300 plate appearances. With the trade deadline behind us, the Angels won’t have any choice but to place Soler on waivers.