As I wrote back on July 24 and reiterated in this week's Prospects Report, the terms of Jorge Soler's contract are different from most minor-leaguers'. He's already signed through 2020, which should theoretically motivate the Cubs to call him up as soon as they feel he's ready so that they maximize the return on their investment.
And judging by his .286 batting average and 1.078 OPS in 14 games at Triple-A Iowa after putting together a .415 batting average and 1.355 OPS in 22 games at Double-A Tennessee, he's awfully close to ready.
But as CBSSports.com user "H4PPYGILMOR3" points out on Soler's player page, the terms of that contract aren't so straightforward. The 22-year-old can opt out once he's eligible for arbitration, giving his promotion the same financial ramifications as any other prospect's. Our own Jon Heyman reported it back when Soler finalized the deal a little more than two years ago. It's true.
Well, darn.
I'm not sure it changes all that much for Fantasy owners. General manager Jed Hoyer has said the Cubs prefer to stagger their callups, and promoting Soler ahead of Kris Bryant makes sense for a number of reasons. But with this correction, I'm reducing Soler's chances of contributing this year from "all but certain" to "likely."