Juan Soto is headed to the Bronx.
The San Diego Padres agreed to trade the All-Star outfielder to the New York Yankees on Wednesday. Both teams Certain commerce After multiple reports.
Soto is set to be part of the Yankees’ renovated outfield with Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo, after the team acquired the outfielder in Tuesday’s trade with the Red Sox.
In return, the Padres will receive Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Johnny Brito, Randy Vasquez and Kyle Higashioka. The Yankees will also receive outfielder Trent Gresham in the swap.
The Padres are bolstering their pitching staff, acquiring two top prospects
Thorpe is a prized right-hander who was selected in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He led minor league pitchers with 182 strikeouts in 2023, earning a MiLB Pitching Prospect of the Yearand was named by Baseball America as Yankees Minor League Player of the Year. It is offline Sorted by MLB As the Yankees’ No. 5 prospect and finished 2023 with the Double-A Somerset Patriots.
Vazquez, who is also a right-handed pitcher, is New York’s 14th-ranked prospect, per MLB. He appeared in 11 games for the Yankees in 2023, recording a 2.87 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings. Brito, 25, went 9-7 as a part-time starter last season, posting a 4.28 ERA with 72 strikeouts and 28 walks in 90 1/3 innings.
King is a 28-year-old reliever and rookie who posted a 2.75 ERA with 127 strikeouts and 32 walks in a career-high 104 2/3 innings last season. Higashioka, 33, is a veteran who played all seven of his Major League Baseball seasons with the Yankees. He slashed .236/.274/.413 last season, with 10 home runs and 34 RBI in 92 games.
Trade ends Soto’s era in San Diego
Soto’s exit signals a move to cut payroll in San Diego after a spending spree under late owner Peter Seidler led to a trip to the NLCS in 2022 before a disappointing 82-80 campaign in 2023 fell short of the postseason.
Soto is approaching his final season of arbitration eligibility and is said to be He is expected to make $33 million for the 2024 season Instead of a long term deal. It’s a price the Padres weren’t willing to pay along with the risk of losing him for nothing when he becomes a free agent next winter.
Soto played a season and a half with the Padres following a blockbuster trade from the Washington Nationals at the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline. During his time in Washington, he emerged as the best hitter in baseball.
After helping the national team win the World Championship in 2019, Soto finished in the top five in MVP voting in consecutive seasons. He won the batting title while slashing .351/.490/.695 in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. He followed with a .313/.465/.534 slash line with 29 home runs, 95 RBI and nine stolen bases in 2021 while finishing second to Bryce Harper in MVP voting.
His rise sparked lucrative, long-running contract negotiations with the Nationals that never came to fruition. Soto reportedly turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer in 2021, a decision that opened up the trade market and ultimately led to his landing in San Diego.
Juan Soto never seemed to fit in with the Padres
Soto joins a Padres roster that includes fellow All-Star Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth and Fernando Tatis Jr., along with a pitching rotation that includes Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove. The Padres also signed All-Star outfielder Xander Bogaerts to a $280 million contract before the 2023 season. Soto’s arrival signaled the previously frugal Padres’ intent to do their best to compete for the franchise’s first World Series.
Instead, Soto struggled in his first half of the season in San Diego and never reached the heights of his MVP nomination in Washington. He slashed .236/.388/.390 in 52 games with the Padres in 2022. San Diego made the postseason despite those struggles and the loss of Tatis to injury and a PED suspension.
In 2023, Soto returned to All-Star level while slashing .275/.410/519 with a career-high 35 home runs. But the Padres finished third in the NL West and never challenged for a postseason berth. Now, without Soto’s long-term contract, the Padres have prioritized spending elsewhere for 2024.
Soto, who is still only 25 years old, will likely receive one of the richest contracts in baseball history when he eventually gets a long-term deal.
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