Yankees acquire Juan Soto in 7-player trade with Padres

Yankees acquire Juan Soto in 7-player trade with Padres
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Juan Soto, a 25-year-old outfielder who has established himself as one of the most gifted hitters of this era, was traded by the San Diego Padres to the New York Yankees late on Wednesday night. It was the second trade for Soto in less than 17 months.

As part of the seven-player trade, the Yankees also acquired outfielder Trent Grisham from the Padres. Right-handers Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito, and Drew Thorpe, as well as catcher Kyle Higashioka, were sent to San Diego in return.

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Searching for two left-handed hitters who could play every day, New York signed both of them this week. They acquired Alex Verdugo on Tuesday night in a unique trade with the Boston Red Sox in return for three pitchers.

The Yankees and Padres closed the deal that had been heavily rumored for several weeks a little over a day later. As of Tuesday night, sources told ESPN, the two parties had reached an agreement on the players and appeared likely to close the deal by Wednesday afternoon. The procedure wasn’t completed until almost midnight on the East Coast, though, due to the logistical challenges of completing the medicals while some trainers were in the air, especially in the case of Thorpe, who finished the 2023 season on the injured list due to a subluxation in his non-throwing shoulder.

Speaking soon after the agreement was completed, Padres general manager A.J. Preller stated that over the previous few weeks, he had received interest in Soto from as many as ten teams.

“It’s extremely hard to make a deal where you’re trading a player with the caliber of Juan Soto,” Preller stated. “However, before taking that action, we wanted to make sure that many needs were met. We were successful in obtaining some quality depth.”

Through the trade, Soto will now share an outfield with Verdugo, Grisham, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton—though Stanton is currently more of a designated hitter.

Although Soto and Verdugo are entering their final season before becoming free agents, the Yankees would surely prefer to retain Soto for an extended time. Although neither Verdugo nor Judge are the team’s primary center fielders, this construction will require one of them to fill the position full-time.

Grisham, a left-handed hitter as well, fills in as a fourth outfielder and can start some games against righties and be substituted in late for defensive purposes.

Since Grisham is leaving, Fernando Tatis Jr., a lifetime shortstop who won a Platinum Glove in his first full season as a right fielder in 2023, may be able to play center field in San Diego. However, the Padres have also expressed interest in Jung Hoo Lee, a Korean center fielder. According to Preller, the Padres also hope to add at least one more starting pitcher. The Padres could theoretically add Lee and another arm by clearing around $35 million with the Soto deal, which would help them contend in the increasingly challenging National League West.

Preller responded, “For us, we saw it as an opportunity to have three pennant races alongside Juan in play, and maybe more,” when asked about the difficulty of not following through with Soto. However, I believe that we realized you could also change course as soon as we struck the agreement, both internally in baseball operations and myself at the time with Peter Seidler. The fact that elite players and premium talent are always in demand is just one aspect of having elite players. We were aware of that.

In August 2022, the Padres sent an impressive haul of prospects to the Washington Nationals, including starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore, three other highly regarded young players, and shortstop CJ Abrams, to acquire Soto for the first time. Before Soto entered free agency, the Padres intended to have him for three postseason races. They planned to pair him with superstars Tatis, Manny Machado, and eventually Xander Bogaerts.

Rather, they were given just one.

The Padres had a very disappointing 2023 season and missed the playoffs, but they rode the acquisitions of star closer Josh Hader and Soto to the NL Championship Series in 2022. In the following offseason, they wanted to add players to a rotation that had been depleted by multiple free-agent departures while also making cuts from a payroll that had surpassed $250 million.

Soto’s trade turned out to be the Padres’ best and most effective option.

However, it hurt as well.

Soto has cut since making his professional debut in 2018 at the age of 19. His power and patience blend well. Throughout 779 games, he batted 284/.421/.524 with 160 home runs and 483 RBIs, making three All-Star teams and taking home four Silver Sluggers. During those six years, Soto has walked 640 times and struck out 577 times, which is an uncommon ratio in an era when pitchers frequently toss breaking pitches that can reach triple digits.

In 2020, Soto’s season was cut short by a pandemic, but he still managed to win a batting title. Over the next three seasons, he led the majors in walks, racking up 412 free passes and 94 fewer strikeouts while also hitting 91 home runs. According to ESPN Stats & Information, his adjusted OPS of 157 is the fifth-highest all-time through a player’s age-24 season, only surpassed by Ty Cobb, Mike Trout, Mickey Mantle, and Jimmie Foxx.

The Padres never formally extended their contract with Soto, in part because they sensed he would have preferred to go it alone—a move that is frequently made by well-known Scott Boras clients.

The Padres’ payroll for the upcoming season is projected to be close to $200 million, which represents a significant decrease from 2023 but is still a significant sum in the industry given their market size.

“I think we’re going to run highly competitive payrolls over the next five years, and I believe we’re going to have a highly competitive payroll this year,” Preller stated. However, the question is always how to use the money and the player most effectively. In the end, we chose to add five players who I believe will be on our roster this year as opposed to just one. One very special player. Additionally, Trent Grisham is an excellent center fielder. We’ll see how it goes, but I believe that’s the final path we chose—adding those players now and then being in a position to do some more things, complete a team.”

Soto was traded by the Nationals, who had signed him out of the Dominican Republic after he reportedly turned down a reported $440 million, 15-year extension, which forced them to start rebuilding. After finishing 2022 with a career-low.853 OPS, Soto’s numbers rebounded in 2023, his first full season with the Padres, when he played in all 162 games and slashed 275/.410/.519 with 35 home runs and 109 RBIs.

Only Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish remained from the Padres’ 2023 rotation at the start of the offseason, as they had up to three holes to fill due to the free agency departures of Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez, and Seth Lugo. A portion of that need is met by the Soto trade.

After entering the Yankees’ rotation late in the previous season, King, 28, posted a 1.88 ERA in eight starts. King will likely take one of the open spots. There are also the 25-year-olds Brito and Vasquez, who made their debuts in the previous season. And Thorpe is, too. In his age-22 season of 2023, Thorpe tore up High-A and Double-A ball, going 14-2 with a 2.52 ERA, striking out 182 batters, and walking 38 in 139⅓ innings. In 25 games (13 starts), Brito recorded a 4.28 ERA in 2023, while Vasquez recorded a 2.87 ERA in 11 games (five starts).

Along with 25-year-old catcher Luis Campusano, Higashioka offers the Padres another option behind the plate. Higashioka is a year away from free agency.

The true gem, though, is Soto, whose move from Petco Park, which is large in San Diego, to Yankee Stadium’s short right-field porch could unleash even more of his already legendary offensive ability. Although the Yankees would love to find a way to keep him in the Bronx longer, he is only guaranteed a year there.

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