The Yankees and Padres have exchanged names in trade talks for San Diego’s superstar hitter Juan Soto, but neither side is said to have liked what they heard so far. At least in the early stages, it’s fair to say an enormous gap exists.
The difference in offers is so great, in fact, the Yankees may turn some of their attention elsewhere — at least for a little while. However, the fit is so obvious that no one would be surprised if talks are resurrected.
Soto — generally regarded one of baseball’s top five or six hitters — could be just the piece to revive a Yankees offense that bordered on moribund. The thought of a Soto-Aaron Judge combo in a lineup that needs a boost is enticing, but the Yankees see the current player cost as way too high based on the Padres’ latest ask, which was said to be very pitching-heavy.
The Yankees made a counterproposal, which apparently wasn’t well-received by the Padres, either.
The Yankees are loathe to give up promising reliever-turned-starter Michael King and right-handed pitching prospect Drew Thorpe, but still have a stash of young starters and starting prospects who could potentially form a viable offer. Young pitchers who could interest the Padres include prospect Chase Hampton plus Clarke Schmidt, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez. San Diego center fielder Trent Grisham’s name also came up in talks, as the Yankees have said they seek two outfielders, including a center fielder.
There aren’t a lot of great outfield options, but they’ve expressed interest in free agents Cody Bellinger, Jung Hoo Lee and Kevin Kiermaier, all of whom are excellent center fielders.
Soto, who hit 35 home runs, drove in 109 runs and posted a .930 OPS, will be at the forefront of trade talks at next week’s Winter Meetings. The Padres are thought to need to cut some payroll while also needing to replace five good-to-great pitchers who’ve become free agents, including Cy Young winner Blake Snell. The Padres could, however, wait to see what happens with the free agent sweepstakes for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, and hope losers in that derby join the Soto sweepstakes.
At least nine teams have checked in on Soto, not counting the Mets, who had a brief conversation but probably aren’t a fit. The field is limited by Soto’s likely $30M-plus salary via arbitration, but the big market Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies could potentially work, with the Dodgers and Giants less likely since they are in the Padres’ division.
The Yankees are willing to take on Soto’s full salary while surrendering players. But Soto’s value is somewhat limited a bit by the realization he’s a one-year rental. He’s already turned down a $440M, 15-year offer from his previous Washington Nationals team, and with a year to go before free agency, he’d be looking for $500M plus with a much higher average annual value than the $29M in that bid.