Should Philadelphia Phillies Execute This Trade for Soto?

The Philadelphia Phillies are 10 games over .500 and while tracking down the Atlanta Braves in the National League East will be a tall order, they’re well within the NL Wild Card race.

The Phillies have flipped the script since an awful start to the season and they can now go out and be buyers at the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

But would the Phillies be interested in trading for San Diego slugger Juan Soto?

It’s an intriguing idea, especially since the Padres are struggling this season and have emerged as one of the real disappointments of 2023, relative to expectations.

But would the Padres really pull the trigger on a player they spent an incredible amount of capital to acquire just last season? And one that won’t hit free agency until after 2024?

Well, that may depend on the package any team offers, and that includes the Phillies.

FanDuel proposed a trade, one that would send Soto to Philadelphia and allow the Padres to replenish their minor-league system.

Ready?

In this proposed deal, Soto would go to Philadelphia for four Phillies Top 30 prospects — pitcher Andrew Painter, outfielder Justin Crawford, outfielder Carlos De La Cruz and pitcher Jaydenn Estanista.

It would be a steep price. The Phillies had hoped that Painter would pitch in their rotation this season, but due to arm problems they ruled him out for the 2023 season on Tuesday. Still, he’s nearly MLB-ready.

Crawford was the Phillies’ first-round pick last year and is the son of former MLB star Carl Crawford. De La Cruz is having the best season of his career with Double-A Reading. Estanista is at Class-A Clearwater.

Is that enough to pry Soto away from San Diego for a Phillies playoff run? Or is that too much of the future for the Phillies to give up?

We’re less than two weeks away from finding out.

More From SI's Inside The Phillies: