Padres Rumors: Insider Proposes Package to Send Juan Soto to New York Yankees
All eyes are on current San Diego superstar Juan Soto after the Padres failed to reach the 2023 postseason after their 2022 NLCS run.
One year of arbitration is all that stands in Soto's way to the open market and many anticipate his next contract to break several records from a monetary standpoint.
GM AJ Preller has choices to make about his left fielder and a trade to an AL contender may be on the table if he can't extend the Dominican superstar. Former MLB GM Jim Bowden proposed a potential deal for the Padres to send Soto to the New York Yankees:
"They could offer the Padres a package of major-league-ready talent including pitchers Michael King and Jhony Brito, outfielder Everson Pereira and infielder Oswald Peraza."
Preller originally brought in the 24-year-old talent after Soto rejected a contract extension with his original team, the Washington Nationals.
The decision made sense after Soto watched most of his teammates from Washington's 2019 World Series roster get shipped out until he and Victor Robles were the last men standing.
Soto expressed no desire to stay for a rebuild and Preller pounced to acquire him for a massive prospect haul that included C.J. Abrams and Mackenzie Gore, among others.
The deal appeared to tip in San Diego's favor after their run to the 2022 NLCS but the rebuilding Nationals and Padres shared a similar record at one point in 2023 despite the Friars' obvious loftier goals.
Failure on several fronts means that Soto might not be convinced that San Diego will be his long-term home and he could request another trade to the third team of his career.
Bowden suggests the Bronx as a possible location and Soto would join Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge as the faces for the most storied franchise in baseball.
Arbitration records will surely be broken on Soto's 2024 contract but anything past next season is truly up in the air for his future.
