Solano signed as an international free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005. He spent seven seasons in the Cardinals organization as a backup infielder, but never made it to the major leagues with them. In 2008 he was a mid-season All Star with the Palm Beach Cardinals in the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.
Miami Marlins
In 2012, the Miami Marlins invited Solano to spring training as a non-roster invitee. Solano competed for the reserve infielder role with the Marlins, but the job went to Donnie Murphy and Solano was assigned to the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Class AAAPacific Coast League. He received his first promotion to MLB by the Marlins on May 20, 2012, becoming the 12th Colombian-born player to reach the major leagues, at 24 years of age. On May 23, 2012, he singled in his first career at bat. Solano's first career major league start was on May 26, 2012, against the San Francisco Giants. He went 2-4 with 2 hits and a run batted in. With the trade of Hanley Ramírez to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July 2012, Solano competed with Donnie Murphy and Greg Dobbs for playing time at third base, as Emilio Bonifacio took over second base following the trade that sent Omar Infante to the Detroit Tigers. After Bonifacio injured his knee, Solano took over second while Murphy, Dobbs, and Gil Velazquez competed to be the starting third baseman. Solano finished the season batting.295/.342/.375 in 285 at bats with 2 home runs, 11 doubles, 3 triples, 28 RBIs, 21 walks, and 7 stolen bases. He was named to the Baseball AmericaMajor League All Rookie Team. The Marlins placed Solano on the disabled list on May 7, 2013, retroactive to May 4. He returned and played in 102 games, batting.249/.305/.316. He batted.316 with runners in scoring position. He was named the Wilson Team Defensive Player of the Year, playing primarily second base. In 2014, he appeared in 111 games for the Marlins, batting.252/.300/.323. In 2015, his last year with Miami, he appeared in only 55 games, splitting time between shortstop, third base, and second base, with a dismal.189 batting average.
On January 9, 2016, the New York Yankees signed Solano to a minor league contract. He spent the 2016 season with the Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, with whom he was a post-season All Star after batting.319 /.349/.436 with 33 doubles, 7 home runs, 7 sacrifice flies, and 67 RBIs in 511 at bats. He was promoted to the major leagues on September 18, following an injury to Starlin Castro, and in 22 at bats he hit.227/.261/.455. The Yankees outrighted him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the regular season. Prior to the start of the 2017 season, he was a member of Team Colombia in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He spent the entire season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, hitting.282/.329/.391 with 44 runs, 29 doubles, four home runs, and 48 RBIs in 373 at bats. He batted.330 with runners in scoring position. Following the season, he played for Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Winter League, hitting.371/.400/.468 in 62 at bats. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.
On January 19, 2018, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Solano to a minor league contract. He played in 81 games for the Class AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers of the Pacific Coast League, batting.318./.353/.430 in 314 at bats.
San Francisco Giants
On December 18, 2018, Solano signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants. With Class AAA Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League, in 2019 he batted.322/.392/.437 with two home runs and 16 RBIs in 87 at bats. With the Giants in 2019, he batted.330/.360/.456 with 27 runs, four home runs, and 23 RBIs in 215 at bats, and had a line drive rate that led all players in the league with 200 or more at bats, as he played primarily second base while also pinch hitting, playing shortstop, and appearing at third base. In December, he and the Giants agreed to a one-year, $1.375 million contract.
