Generational Slugger Reportedly On Trade Market, Could Cardinals Make Pursuit?
The St. Louis Cardinals front office is well aware that they cannot afford another season as disappointing as the last.
Many changes will be made, and they'll exhaust all options in an attempt to bolster the roster. The hefty majority of those changes are expected to come to the pitching staff. However, generational talent rarely becomes available and must be considered regardless of position.
"The (San Diego) Padres are internally leaning towards trading All-Star outfielder Juan Soto, which would free up about $30 million -- while trying to slash their payroll by about $50 million," USA Today's Bob Nightengale wrote. "The Padres won’t get nearly the return that they sent to the Washington Nationals two years ago to acquire Soto, but they should get two top-15 prospects in a team’s farm system, besides freeing themselves an arbitration-record payday for Soto."
Soto hit .275 with 68 extra-base hits including 35 home runs, 109 RBIs and a .930 OPS (158 OPS+) in 162 games this season. The 24-year-old superstar also led Major League Baseball with 132 walks.
The corner outfielder has one more season under team control and could in theory join a Cardinals lineup that already boasts Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and a slew of young sluggers. The team could then sign Soto to a mega-extension. Goldschmidt comes off the books when the young star's contract would kick in, making this deal slightly more feasible.
The addition of Soto to the Cardinals' already potent lineup would be a dream but unfortunately, that likely is all it will be. St. Louis could easily give up enough of their farm system to win the sweepstakes without much of a long-term impact on their prospect pool but is not expected to invest enough monetarily for a player of Soto's caliber.
The Cardinals need to add at least three quality starting pitchers this winter and likely won't have the backing from ownership to add those pieces on top of a highly-coveted star slugger.
That said, St. Louis made blockbuster moves for both Arenado and Goldschmidt. The organization could be primed for another franchise-altering exchange as its top two sluggers are aging out of superstardom.
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