Padres News: MLB Insider Says San Diego is Still Trying to Work Out a Juan Soto Contract Extension
The Padres shocked the world last year when they pulled off one of the biggest trade deadline deals in recent history and made the move to acquire Juan Soto from the Nationals.
He's become really everything the Padres wanted him to, and now when push comes to shove to give him a new contract, how much are the Padres willing to give him?
More specifically how much can the team afford to give him?
According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Friars are still trying to keep him in San Diego long-term, but there just seems to be no deal on a contract yet.
"The San Diego Padres are aggressively trying to sign Juan Soto to a contract extension, just as they have all season, before having to make a decision this winter whether to keep him or risk losing him as a free agent after 2024."
via Bob Nightengale / USA Today
Let's talk about what the second part of that little insight might mean for the Padres.
Juan Soto will be a Padre next season, that's for sure, but unless the Padres do anything between now and the end of next season, Soto is an unrestricted free agent and he can search for contracts elsewhere after the 2024 season.
With the massive contracts that San Diego gave out this offseason, and some big name players making more money on their back loaded contracts in the coming years, do the Padres really have it in their budget to make a quality offer to Soto?
I mean, he doesn't have to take a team discount if he doesn't want to. There will definitely be plenty of suitors when/if he finally hits the open market.
And with the price some teams might be willing to pay, is it worth it to take on another massive contract in Juan Soto?
If the Padres want to stay in contention for the foreseeable future though, they need to find a way to start making Soto happy, so he'd be willing to stay.
In the long run, I think Soto would be a great asset to this team, but getting a deal done before he hits the open market is key.
