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7 Juan Soto trade ideas that actually make sense

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7 Juan Soto trade ideas that actually make sense

This season’s trade deadline suddenly got a lot spicier after news came out that Washington Nationals superstar Juan Soto had declined a 15-year contract extension worth $440 million. To put that in perspective, Mike Trout signed a 12-year contract in 2019 that will see him make $426.5 million over the course of that deal. Soto was offered Best-Player-In-Baseball-type money and declined, so it seems like the only logical way forward for the Nationals would be to start seriously entertaining trade offers for the incredible 23-year-old slugger. While Soto isn’t going to be reaching unrestricted free agency until 2025, it’s also unlikely that the Nationals will be in contention by the time Soto’s final season under contract with the team in rolls around in 2024. With that being said, I know you’re not here to figure out which uniform Juan Soto will be wearing three years from now — you’re here to try to see which uniform Juan Soto could be wearing three weeks from now. So let’s talk about it and break out the Baseball Trade Values machine (with trades that are actually accepted by the machine) while trying to figure out what it’ll take to get Juan Soto on your team by the time this trade deadline has come and gone. For starters, it’ll probably help if your team has an actual shot of playing in October this year. While rebuilding teams could be able to meet what should be an astronomical asking price for Soto, a lot of these clubs probably aren’t going to be interested in dipping deep into their prospect pool just to get one player. They’re also likely to be in the same situation that the Nationals currently are, where they likely wouldn’t be willing to lay down the cash for a player of Soto’s caliber while also being a non-factor in the fight for a World Series title. This line of thinking automatically eliminates some of the usual suspects like the Athletics, Reds, Pirates and Orioles and other teams who are either struggling right now or historically cheap. This also knocks out the Rays after they got their once-a-decade financial shock out of the way by signing Wander Franco to a long-term contract extension. We can also likely knock out the divisional rivals from the sweepstakes, though I’d imagine that they’re still going to try. If the asking price for Juan Soto already figures to be unspeakably high, then there’s little-to-no chance that teams within the NL East are going to be paying anything less than a premium on top of that. The Braves are either depending on their top prospects at the big league level or they sent them to Oakland for Matt Olson. The Phillies would have trouble meeting any potential asking price in terms of players while also trying to contend at the same time. The Marlins have the prospects and a decent amount of attractive major leaguers they could throw in the deal, but they fall into the earlier categories of not being a serious contender while also having a reputation for not spending a ton of money on players. On the other hand, the Mets actually have all of the talent, the “win-now” ambition and the financial wherewithal to pull off a deal but once again, it would take an astronomical offer (like prospects and decent-to-good big leaguers) for something to happen within the division. So with those teams out of the way, now the speculation can start to get spicy. Imagine Juan Soto going from forming a solid trio with Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz to suddenly ending up with the likes of Fernando Tatís Jr. and Manny Machado? That could be a possibility since the Padres are one of those teams that fits the bill of having good organizational depth, financial capability and title ambitions. So what could a trade look like? Padres fans will probably wince thinking about losing MacKenzie Gore in particular but hey, that’s the cost of being potentially being the boss. Just let this initial offer give you an indication of what it’s going to take to trade for Soto. It might be painful to part with these players in particular but it’ll be worth it for the nightmares that a Soto-Tatís-Machado trio would induce into any pitching staff across the baseball landscape. An offense that would likely get even scarier with the addition of Juan Soto would be the Toronto Blue Jays. While the long-term relationship would be a big question mark, seeing Juan Soto blast baseballs all around the Rogers Centre while being surrounded with the likes of Vladimir Guererro Jr., Bo Bichette, George Springer and Alejandro Kirk would be worth the hefty trade price. That would also include another Nationals player coming to Canada with Soto. Yep, that’s Patrick Corbin being included. If the Nationals are seriously considering trading away Juan Soto then they may as well just try to find a way to take on Patrick Corbin and his contract. Some teams could get away with pulling off a deal without Corbin involved — the Blue Jays wouldn’t be one of those teams, so this would likely be the path they’d have to take. Between bringing in Corbin and parting with two very high-caliber prospects, this figures to be a steep price for the Blue Jays but once again, Juan Soto is Juan Soto. Then we have the usual suspects for whenever a superstar is suddenly available. It’s totally understandable if you’ve already accepted that Juan Soto could be wearing Dodger blue or Yankee pinstripes not too long from now. The Yankees would likely have to take the path of taking Patrick Corbin along with Juan Soto, while the Dodgers could pull it off simply by having prospects and players who could help out in the big leagues. This is a horrifying scenario for the rest of baseball if Juan Soto ends up in either one of these lineups — either Soto joins what is already one of the most talented lineups in baseball history in Los Angeles or he gets to join a lineup in New York that has already reached juggernaut status. Pick your poison, indeed! There are also some dark horses that have to be considered. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the Red Sox getting involved in a pursuit of Juan Soto since they have the money to potentially keep him, the players to get him in a trade and the sheer hatred of their rivals in New York to keep him out of the Bronx. You also have to consider the Giants, who could go from building around Logan Webb to building around Juan Soto if they decide to flex their financial muscle and keep Soto around long-term. The same goes for the Cardinals, who could ship one 23-year-old outfielder to the nation’s capital in exchange for another 23-year-old outfielder. There’s one more team that always has to be in the back of anybody’s mind when it comes to any type of transactions in baseball. It’s really not that hard to imagine Jerry Dipoto trying to figure out exactly what it would take to make Juan Soto the latest generational talent to don one of those sweet teal Mariners jerseys. Seattle has a good thing going with their team right now but if anybody would shake things up, it’s a man who wakes up ready to transact. Some people came here to see realistic trade offers and I respect that. This next one is for people who would like to see the world burn. While all of this speculation is exciting to talk about, there’s always the possibility that it could end up being all for naught. This all ends up being for nothing if Juan Soto and his camp decide to stick around and see what happens in the future with the Nationals and any new ownership that eventually comes around, or if he doesn’t get traded and ends up staying all the way until it’s time for him to pick a team for himself in free agency. With that being said, it now seems like a very unlikely scenario that Soto will be playing for the Nationals past this season. If the Nationals are indeed floating their superstar outfielder on the trade market, then the August 2 trade deadline figures to be one of the most exciting events of this season. Whether it’s a contender, a juggernaut or a dark horse potentially acquiring Juan Soto, it’s absolutely intriguing to think about with the trade deadline looming.
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