I sometimes get tomatoes thrown at me in my conversations with friends, but I still get tossed with my hot take of the last few months.
Manny Machado and Juan Soto will not play together in 2024.
I know the Padres want to build around Juan Soto and we’re talking about one of the best young players in MLB, but the club is starting to have big financial commitments.
And even though Machado recently secured himself with the club in 2024, becoming the first player in history to sign two contracts worth at least $300 million, I stand by my prediction. In fact, I keep it more than ever.
For 24 months, the club has been spending crazy. I don’t know how sustainable it is for the owner, but he seems to want to win.
But the question I ask myself is whether Juan Soto will be able to add an amount of nearly $500 million to this payroll. I don’t have the answer – but the Padres do.
After all, let’s remember that Soto turned down $440 million from the Nationals…and prices have been going up ever since. He wants to become a free agent to test his worth with all the clubs. #ClientDeScottBoras
He’ll break the bank and I don’t know if the Padres will have the funds to keep him.
The way I see it, he will definitely spend the 2023 season in San Diego, but do not rule out the possibility of seeing him being traded next winter, a year from autonomy.
There would certainly be a taker club and that would allow the Padres to bail out the coffers a bit at the level of the club’s hopes.
After all, whether we like it or not, in a few years, it will take young people on minimum wage who will push to give the owners a breather. And if the club feel they are escaping Soto, it might be a good idea to maximize his value and split the cost in prospects with another formation, right?
I’m not saying it’s going to happen and at this point I wouldn’t be surprised to see Soto sign long-term with the club within two years. But at the same time, I would understand a trade in the next MLB offseason.
