Trade winds are swirling around Juan Soto, as it remains unclear if the citizens will tackle the super defensive player before the 5pm trading deadline on Tuesday. The market continues to change on an hourly basis based on other deals and certainly depends on countless private discussions taking place among front-office executives about baseball, yet Soto (MLBTR’s) Trade Top Candidate of season deadline) looms above all else. Sure, some clubs will want to explore every possibility of acquiring Soto, but waiting so long could leave this team empty-handed in search of other commercial options if Soto goes elsewhere.
Padres are widely seen as one of the top contenders to land Soto, and they’re clearly open to giving up the kind of huge package of prospects it would take to get Washington’s attention. according to John Morosi of MLB NetworkThe Padres familyready to discussLike CJ Abrams, Robert Hassell III and Adrian Morjon with the Nationals. All three have been or have been staples in the top 100 prospects list over the past few years, although Morejon has “rolled out” of most prospect lists due to his MLB experience, MLB Pipeline also removed Abrams from their roster due to the 43 major league games played earlier this season.
With the Nationals known to target younger, controllable players either in the major leagues or on the cusp of their debut in the league, the Padres trio seem to have ticked those boxes. However, it is very likely that the Nats would want more of the upper tier of the San Diego Ranch System (or from the Active List) in order to break away from Soto, and the Padres might have to increase their bid in order to outbid the other suitors.
For example, the Cardinals also have a stock of young talent, and they have also been mentioned as one of the candidates to land on Soto. Dylan Carlson is a name on Washington’s radar, as Derek Gold from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch He writes that Nats is “in love” with the player.
Carlson is only 23 years old and has already made a mark on the show, providing above-average production on the board and solid defense (as a central and right-back). The Nationals could look to Carlson as the next cornerstone on the field, as the team will already be fairly certain they can contribute immediately, while players like Abrams, Hassell or Morejon remain unproven at the MLB level.
On paper, the Cardinals seem to have the depth to move Carlson as part of the Soto deal, but that would leave the cards without a reliable center player. Goold’s technical director Oliver Marmol and other reporters said Harrison Bader is still on the 10-day list of those injured with plantar fasciitis, and a setback will extend his tenure for at least a few more weeks. Bader won’t even come out of the defensive right shoe for another week or two, so while Carlson has filled in brilliantly in the middle, St. Louis could also have to focus on landing a midfielder on another deal if Carlson is transferred. A temporary set of Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman in the middle, for example, wouldn’t be an ideal choice for a potential competitor.
As mentioned earlier, other trades can drastically change the situation for multiple teams, and it looks as though two more potential suitors for Soto are no longer involved. The Rays could have been an impressive team to land Soso, however the demands of the citizens were”beyond tolerance” Joel Sherman from The New York Post Writes. As such, the Rays avoided the popular route and instead real estate David Peralta of Diamondbacks earlier today. yesterday Obsession It’s clear that Luis Castillo will knock the Mariners out of the race for Soto, with Seattle distributing a large chunk of their potential capital to acquire Castillo from the Reds.
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