Putting Together a Potential Phillies-Soto Trade

The Philadelphia Phillies have enough prospects and young MLB players to entice the San Diego Padres into trading them Juan Soto, Baseball America writes.

The site recently wrote a piece about which teams had the combination of young players and prospects to swing a deal to get Soto. The belief is that the Padres are looking for help in starting pitching, first base and center field.

The Phillies were among the five teams identified as the ones with the best combination of prospects and young MLB players at those positions to make a deal.

Baseball America ranked them No. 4 among the five teams:

The Phillies are more limited in what they can offer, but they have enough pieces to get a deal done.

The story started in the outfield, where it eliminated two players — center fielder Brandon Marsh and the Phillies’ No. 1 prospect, pitcher Andrew Painter. The latter will miss all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery.

But, they proposed a top pair of young players to begin negotiations:

… a deal topped by fellow young center fielder Johan Rojas and Top 100 Prospect righthander Mick Abel makes for an intriguing start.

Rojas joined the Phillies in July after the injury to Cristian Pache and he never left. His defense was key but his bat showed up too — a .302 batting average. He doesn’t have much power, but he can hit for average and defend.

Abel is a Top 5 prospect for the Phillies who finished his 2023 season at Triple-A Lehigh after going 5-6 with a 4.13 ERA in the minors. He could be MLB ready in 2024.

Baseball America proposes the Phillies could round out a deal with a combination of international shortstop prospects that include Starlyn Caba, Bryan Rincon and William Bergolla.

Finally, its Phillies owner John Middleton that may be the ultimate helping hand in getting this deal done, per Baseball America:

While the Phillies payroll commitments are already considerable, owner John Middleton has shown a willingness to spend in pursuit of a championship, and the specter of a lineup with Soto, Marsh and Nick Castellanos in the outfield, Bryce Harper at first base and Kyle Schwaber at DH is tantalizing.

The Padres could deal Soto because his arbitration bill could be $30 million in 2024 and they may not be able to afford a long-term deal after drawing a $50 million loan to meet its obligation to end the season.

If the Padres do trade Soto, they’ll be trading a lifetime .284 hitter who is entering his age 25 season. He already has a World Series ring, a batting title, three All-Star Game berth and four Silver Sluggers. He’s also led the Majors in walks three times.

The team that lands him will be getting access to a generational talent.