If the San Diego Padres are going to make a move to acquire Juan Soto in a trade with the Washington Nationals, baseball fans now have an idea of what it might cost the Friars to make that deal.
San Diego Padres rumors: Here is the package it could take to acquire Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals
According to an article (subscription required) by Dennis Lin, who covers the San Diego Padres for The Athletic, the cost for the Padres to make a trade with the Nationals and bring Soto to the National League West would be enormous. According to Lin, “Rival officials believe the Nationals would start by asking for a package of shortstop CJ Abrams, (MacKenzie) Gore and other high-end prospects such as Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Jackson Merrill.”
Rankings on MLB.com show Hassell III (an outfielder) as San Diego’s top prospect, Wood (an outfielder) ranked third, and Merrill (a shortstop) ranked fourth. Gore and Abrams both made their debuts for the Padres this season.
Again, that would be a starting point for negotiations, but five young players heading to Washington in exchange for Soto would certainly be a high price.
Speaking of a high price, the Padres would need to figure out how to work Soto’s contract into their financial framework, knowing San Diego has been unable to shed the contracts of Wil Myers and Eric Hosmer. It’s unlikely the Nationals would be willing to take on one of those contracts through a trade as reports have said that Washington is looking for a team that is interested in Soto to also absorb the $23 million owed to pitcher Patrick Corbin this season, plus the $24 million he is scheduled to make in 2023 and a staggering $35 million he is owed in 2024.
It is unlikely that any kind of deal for Soto from the Padres or any other team would come before the August 2 MLB trade deadline, meaning San Diego would have time to see if the financial picture could come together and the team was willing to trade that much talent before next season. While Soto represents a generational talent, he also comes with a price that must be weighed before paying it.