When the San Diego Padres got their hands on Juan Soto at the trade deadline last season, we thought it would be enough to give the California team three shots at the top honors.
But the initial plan is taking on water. After reaching the National League Championship Series last year, the Padres have fallen apart this campaign.
And according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, several MLB general managers are predicting the Padres will have no choice but to trade the outfielder after their horrible season.
It’s that the organization still doesn’t have a television contract in its pocket and Soto will be looking to secure at least $500 million in the free agent market after the 2024 campaign.
It would be quite a change of course for San Diego, since after acquiring Soto’s services, everyone expected him to sign a lucrative long-term pact with the team that had just signed him. at the collar.
It makes sense, however, to make the personnel move in the offseason, with Soto becoming free as air only in 2024, which would give his new roster a full season.
Its value would also be higher and the teams that would like to enter the dance would also be more numerous, because it does not represent a big risk, they can trade it at the next trade deadline, as was the case when it moved from the Washington Nationals to the Padres.
After doing a reset as for the luxury tax threshold, could the Yankees go out of their way to acquire Soto’s services then? After an atrocious season and a glaring shortcoming in the outfield, owner Hal Steinbrenner has no other choice.
We will therefore be entitled to a more than interesting winter to follow, with, among other things, this file, as well as that of Shohei Ohtani.
