Five monster trade packages to make the Juan Soto rumors come true.
We've been here before. It was only about 365 days ago when Juan Soto rumors were headlining the trade deadline chatter. Unlike his MLB colleague Shohei Ohtani who stayed put with the Los Angeles Angels last year, Soto was traded from the Washington Nationals to the San Diego Padres. With the Padres underperforming in 2023, he could be on the move yet again.
Soto has one less year of team control this time, but the months to rent him in 2023 and a full year in 2024 to try to win with this young outfielder can help. He's having a better year than he was at the time of last year's trade by a small margin. Always a threat to hit a home run or draw a walk, Soto is never an easy out.
To land him, it'll take a monster trade package. Can any of these three convince the Padres to budge?
1) Juan Soto rumors: A monster trade package from the New York Yankees
Who could use a left fielder with power more than the New York Yankees? The impact of losing Aaron Judge has dropped them in the standings. The team is much less of a threat on offense without him and the kind of move to make which would completely change this is to get involved in any Juan Soto rumors.
What kind of a monster trade package could the Yankees offer the Padres?
This trade lands the Padres the Yankees' number one, two, and seven prospects along with Estevan Florial, an outfielder once held in high regard and hitting well in Triple-A this season.
In terms of where these prospects rank within all of MLB, Jasson Dominguez is 41 and Austin Wells is 79. Dominguez gets the Pads an outfield prospect to build around in the future. Wells can become a solution for them behind the plate. Will Warren, a pitcher, adds an arm to the system. He's expendable for the Yankees. Florial is more of a "wild card" for the Padres to ask for and hope his stellar minor league season is something they can capitalize on.
The match between the Yankees and Soto is obvious. They could even afford to think about extending him in the future. Soto in left field and Judge in right field is a much more palatable pairing of outfield sluggers than Judge and Giancarlo Stanton ever was.
2) Juan Soto rumors: A monster trade package from the Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays have the reputation of being a little too right-handed. They addressed this in the offseason by bringing in Daulton Varsho, Brandon Belt, and Kevin Kiermaier. They're much more balanced but they can get even better by making the Juan Soto rumors come true and bring them up to Canada.
What type of competitive monster trade offer could the Blue Jays slide across the table to the Padres for Soto?
Top Blue Jays prospect Ricky Tiedemann has to be included in this trade because of his presence as the club's only top 100 prospect. The Blue Jays also send their number four and 15 prospects, pitcher Orelvis Martinez and outfielder Dasan Brown. Thinking a little outside of the box for this deal, Alek Manoah is thrown into the deal as well.
The inclusion of Manoah might mean the Blue Jays will need to make a separate trade for a starting pitcher. It might be worth doing regardless considering how his 2023 season has gone. Pulling the ripcord on him is extreme but so is any trade package they'd need to put together to acquire a player like Soto.
This trade is a bit more "heavy" at the top of it in comparison to the one for the Yankees. Which is better for the Padres?
3) Juan Soto rumors: A monster trade package from the Philadelphia Phillies
Juan Soto rumors involving the Philadelphia Phillies are more about his future in free agency, but let's not rule out a trade. He might not seem perfect for them and yet he is. If Bryce Harper can indeed play first base for them, it solves a couple of Phillies problems. Kyle Schwarber can become more of a DH again and Soto can slot himself into either corner outfield spot with Nick Castellanos in the other.
In order to land Soto, the Phillies will have to give up a lot, including one important player from their MLB roster.
The Phillies don't have a great farm system, but this trade is something the Padres might have to think about. It includes the number one, three, and 12 prospects from Philadelphia. Plus the Phillies add in MLB outfielder Brandon Marsh.
Andrew Painter is hurt this year but ranked eighth in all of MLB. Justin Crawford is another top 100 prospect at 84 on MLB.com's list. What adds more intrigue to this trade is the inclusion of Brandon Marsh. It's too soon for the Phillies to put a lot of faith into Johan Rojas, however, if they want to get a huge boost from a player like Soto, Marsh feels like the more appealing player for the Padres to ask for.
This trade helps set up the Padres well for the future and gives them an immediate outfield replacement for Soto in Marsh, albeit a much different type of player. This package might be a little too rich for what the Phillies should give up, unless San Diego adds a starting pitcher. How much more to add Blake Snell?
4) Juan Soto rumors: A monster trade package from the Minnesota Twins
Power, especially from the outfield, is something the Minnesota Twins could use in the worst way. They spent a lot of money on Carlos Correa in the offseason. They should continue to spend on other good players. It can begin with throwing their names into the Juan Soto rumors hat.
We already have some big trade packages for Soto from three other teams. This is what the Twins could offer up.
Brooks Lee is the top Twins prospect and ranked 18th in all of MLB. Emmanuel Rodriguez falls in at number two with an overall ranking of 60th. This is a good start.
Number four prospect Marco Raya gets added in as does number seven, Jose Salas. The pitcher and infielder complete a minor league-exclusive package of players to land one of the best young hitters in baseball.
Unlike some of these other trade packages, the Twins don't have much excess from their MLB roster to include. They shouldn't subtract from the offense. Giving up one of their starting pitchers would remove their greatest weapon. In a year where some of the typically good teams are a bit weak in the knees, the Twins would set themselves up well to go for broke and trade for a star like Soto.
If this trade package isn't enough, let the Padres take any other prospect they'd like from the system.
5) Juan Soto rumors: A monster trade package from the Milwaukee Brewers
As badly as the Minnesota Twins could use some power, the Milwaukee Brewers remain a competitive team with a beleaguered offense. Christian Yelich is actually hitting well but the same cannot be said of his teammates. Soto could shift back to right field in Milwaukee if he became a successful target of the Brewers.
Odds are stacked against the typically frugal, small market Brewers making any sort of trade for Soto. If they surprised us all, this is the kind of trade offer to make.
This might be the best of the five trade packages if the Padres are happy getting prospects. Although the Brewers hold onto their number one prospect, Jackson Chourio, they give up two, three, and four.
Outfielder Sal Frelick is 17th in MLB, catcher Jeferson Quero is 74th, and pitcher Jacob Misiorowski is 87th. Three top 100 prospects plus Garrett Mitchell, a currently injured outfielder with some MLB experience. In this kind of deal, the Padres should add in Ha-Seong Kim along with it.
The Brewers are a much better team after this trade and finally have what feels like a more complete starting lineup. Hitting has been a problem for them. The only concern here is that if they don't win the 2023 World Series is how much it'll set them back.
Milwaukee needs to go after a championship right now while they still have a pitcher like Corbin Burnes at the top of the rotation. They might not have the same output from their pitching this season as they have in previous years. A player like Soto, with support from Kim, can help.