Nick Solak Bio
Nicholas Blake Solak is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Diego Padres. Solak played college baseball for the Louisville Cardinals before being selected by the New York Yankees in the second round of the 2016 MLB draft. Across his MLB career he has posted a .249 batting average with 21 home runs and 94 runs batted in.
Early Life and Background
Nicholas Blake Solak was born on January 11, 1995, in Woodridge, Illinois. He has a sister named Alexis. His father, Mark, worked for Motorola for 30 years, while his mother, Roseann, has a background in community health and substance abuse prevention. Solak was named after Nick’s Sports Page, a sports bar in Dolton, Illinois, where his parents first met during an event featuring Carlton Fisk. Growing up outside of Chicago, he was a childhood fan of the Chicago White Sox, and his favorite childhood baseball players were Scott Podsednik, Paul Konerko, and Mark Buehrle.
Solak played three seasons with the baseball team at Naperville North High School in Naperville, Illinois, where he played as a middle infielder. He batted .442 with 27 runs batted in as a junior in 2012, and as a senior in 2013 he posted a .340 batting average. Despite those numbers, only the Pittsburgh Pirates sent him a questionnaire before the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. Outside of baseball, he played the saxophone in elementary and junior high school band and later resumed playing it after his father had the old instrument refurbished.
Path to Baseball
Solak made his college baseball debut on February 16, 2014, pinch hitting for the Louisville Cardinals in a 6–1 win against the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens. Over the following week he recorded his first run batted in, his first hit, and his first start as a designated hitter. In the summer of 2014 he played for the Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. As a sophomore in 2015, he attained a .324 batting average with three home runs, 40 runs batted in, 15 doubles, and 18 stolen bases, and that summer he played alongside Pete Alonso for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League, earning league all-star recognition.
In 2016, Solak played as a second baseman for Louisville and, despite dealing with an injury, was named a Second Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America and earned second-team All-America recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He posted a .376 batting average, .470 on-base percentage, and .564 slugging percentage, with four home runs and 26 runs batted in across 42 games. He finished his collegiate career with a slash line of .346/.442/.484, 10 home runs, 94 runs batted in, 36 stolen bases, and a .926 on-base plus slugging mark.
Nick Solak Career
New York Yankees (2016–2018)
The New York Yankees selected Nick Solak in the second round of the 2016 MLB draft as the 62nd overall pick and signed him for a $950,000 signing bonus. Before the draft, Baseball America had ranked him as the 86th-best prospect. He made his professional debut with the Low-A Staten Island Yankees, hitting two three-run home runs during his first at-bat there. He finished the 2016 season batting .321 with three home runs, and his 77 hits tied for the second-most in the New York–Penn League, while 48 runs tied for the third-most.
In 2017, Solak finished with a .301 batting average for the High-A Tampa Yankees, hitting 10 home runs with 44 runs batted in and 13 stolen bases. After 100 games with Tampa, he was promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder on August 1, where he finished the season batting .286/.344/.429. He led the Florida State League with a .397 on-base percentage and ranked second with a .301 average and a .460 slugging percentage, earning postseason all-star recognition from MLB.com and a number five ranking among second-base prospects. On February 18, 2018, the Yankees sent Solak to the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team trade that brought Brandon Drury to New York. He spent 2018 with the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, batting .282 with 19 home runs and 76 runs batted in across 126 games to earn Montgomery’s MVP award, and began 2019 with the Triple-A Durham Bulls, hitting .266/.350/.485 with 17 home runs and 47 runs batted in.
Texas Rangers Breakthrough (2019–2022)
On July 13, 2019, the Texas Rangers acquired Solak in exchange for pitcher Pete Fairbanks and assigned him to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. On August 20 the Rangers selected his contract and promoted him to the major leagues, where he made his debut in a doubleheader against the Los Angeles Angels, recording his first hit off Andrew Heaney and his first home run off Jaime Barría. Solak finished 2019 batting .293/.393/.491 with five home runs and 17 runs batted in over 33 games, posted the fastest sprint speed among major league designated hitters at 28.7 feet per second, and was voted the Rangers’ Rookie of the Year.
Entering 2020, Baseball America ranked Solak as the Rangers’ fourth-best prospect, and he was their Opening Day left fielder, also seeing time at second base, center field, and designated hitter. He played 58 games, tying for the club lead with Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and finished .268/.326/.344 with two home runs. He opened 2021 as the Rangers’ Opening Day second baseman, recorded a team-high 88 second-base starts before a July 23 option to the Triple-A Round Rock Express, and returned on August 20 to finish the year batting .242/.314/.362/.677 with 11 home runs and 49 runs batted in. From April 14 to July 9 he put together a 71-game no-error streak, the longest single-season streak among Rangers second basemen. In 2022 he made the Opening Day roster as an outfielder, hit .209/.293/.313 with two home runs in 75 plate appearances before being optioned back to Round Rock on May 19.
Pittsburgh Pirates Era (2024–2025)
After brief 2023 stints with the Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers that produced only two pinch-runner appearances and no official at-bats, Solak returned to the Seattle Mariners organization in 2024 on a minor league contract and hit .311 with nine home runs, 53 runs batted in, and 10 stolen bases in 90 games for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, his highest full-season average since 2016. On December 6, 2024, he signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and opened 2025 with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, batting .393/.452/.625 with six home runs, 19 runs batted in, and four stolen bases across 32 appearances. The Pirates selected his contract on May 16, 2025, adding him to their active roster for four appearances in which he went 1-for-11, before he was removed from the 40-man roster on June 3 and elected free agency the next day. He re-signed with Pittsburgh on a minor league contract on June 5 and elected free agency again on November 6.
Notable Events and Milestones
Solak’s signature early moment came on August 20, 2019, when he recorded his first major league hit and first home run on the same day against the Los Angeles Angels. His 71-game no-error streak at second base in 2021 set the longest single-season mark in franchise history for Rangers second basemen, and his .393 batting average at Indianapolis in 2025 marked his most prolific minor league stretch since his 2016 draft year. Off the field, he appeared in a 2022 episode of Bar Rescue.
Nick Solak Family
Family Background and Baseball Lineage
Solak grew up in Woodridge, Illinois, with his parents Mark and Roseann and his sister Alexis. He was named after a sports bar in Dolton where his parents first met during an event featuring Carlton Fisk, and his childhood rooting interest in the Chicago White Sox shaped his early baseball identity. His father Mark spent 30 years at Motorola, while his mother Roseann built a career in community health and substance abuse prevention.
Personal Life
Solak married his longtime girlfriend, Roxanne McVey, on November 20, 2021. The couple met while attending the University of Louisville, where McVey played volleyball, and Solak proposed to her in 2019 at the bar where they first met. Their daughter was born in December 2023.
2025 Season Performance
Solak opened 2025 with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians on a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates and quickly established himself as one of the organization’s top hitters. In 32 appearances he batted .393/.452/.625 with six home runs, 19 runs batted in, and four stolen bases, earning a promotion to the major league roster on May 16. In four appearances for Pittsburgh he went 1-for-11 before being removed from the 40-man roster on June 3 and electing free agency the next day, then re-signing with the club on a minor league contract on June 5.
Because his major league cup of coffee with Pittsburgh produced limited offensive results, the storyline of his 2025 campaign centered on his rebound at Indianapolis and his continued positional versatility between second base and the outfield. Following the season he again elected free agency on November 6, leaving his next move open as the calendar turned to 2026.
