Former Yankees' Star Reliever Says Padres 'Won' Juan Soto Trade
The New York Yankees made headlines when they put together a massive package to acquire one of the game's best hitters, Juan Soto, in a blockbuster deal with the San Diego Padres.
They shipped out their star reliever Michael King, longtime catcher Kyle Higashioka, pitchers Randy Vasquez and Jhony Brito, plus one of their elite pitching prospects Drew Thorpe, in exchange for Soto and Trent Grisham.
It was a massive haul to get back one year of Soto before he is slated to hit free agency.
The aggressive move by the Yankees was viewed by many as necessary. They're coming out of one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory when they finished fourth in the AL East and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
However, it doesn't seem like everyone is on board with the idea that New York won this trade.
In fact, the former Yankees reliever dealt in this trade thinks his new team got the better end of the deal.
"I continue to praise [Padres general manager] A.J. Preller and be confident in saying I feel like the Padres won the trade. I feel like the talent we've gotten, I was shocked to see the Yankees part with that many people," King told Dan Martin of The New York Post.
To be fair, what else was he supposed to say?
King wasn't going to say the Padres got fleeced as he's entering their organization.
The right-hander also mentioned he thinks he'll have a better opportunity to become a starter in San Diego, something that he wants to do at this portion of his career.
King was excellent for New York the past three seasons, posting ERA+ figures well over the league average and recording an ERA under 3.00 in back-to-back years.
He was able to start nine games for the Yankees last season, but it seems like he's going to be a staple in the rotation of the Padres as he said he's had that conversation with his new team.
New York did give up a lot to acquire Soto, but if the slugger can come in and help the Yankees win a World Series championship, it will be hard to say they got the worse end of the deal, no matter how many talented players they gave up.
