6 Potential Juan Soto Trade Proposals from the Yankees and More MLB Teams

Even if it doesn't happen this week, it feels like it won't be long before Juan Soto is an ex-San Diego Padre.

Trade rumors have been swirling around Soto all winter, and one "long-time big leaguer" who knows his mindset indicated to Randy Miller of NJ.com that the 25-year-old superstar has had enough.

"He just wants this over with," the source said of Soto. "He doesn't care where he goes. He knows the Padres aren't keeping him, so he wants them to trade him."

The odds of Soto getting his wish seem to be pretty good. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Padres have gotten offers from "about five teams" so far.

As to what would constitute a fair offer for the three-time All-Star, that deserves a more thorough assessment before we can get into proposing trades that might do the trick.

Soto probably doesn't need any introduction at this point, but it's hard to discuss his value without first discussing his accomplishments.

Following a 2023 campaign in which he posted a ho-hum .410 on-base percentage and a career-high 35 home runs, Soto now has a .421 OBP and 160 homers to show for his six seasons in MLB. He's one of only six players to hit those marks through his age-24 season, with the other five consisting of four Hall of Famers and Mike Trout.

But while Soto is clearly an elite hitter, the problem for both the Padres and their potential trading partners is that he's also due to be among the league's most expensive players.

He's projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $33 million in 2024, which is also his final season of arbitration-eligibility. Though that won't constitute an overpay, it does come close to the $37.9 million in WAR value that he's averaged in his six seasons. That raises a question of how much value he has beyond what he'll be paid next season.

For the Padres, this combined with their desire to cut payroll and their desperation for pitching—Nick Martinez is already gone and Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Josh Hader can also leave via free agency—isn't an ideal equation for leverage.

At the same time, one advantage the Padres have is that impact hitters are in short supply in free agency. There's Shohei Ohtani and Cody Bellinger, but that's about it.

This is not to suggest that the Padres will be able to move Soto in an 8-for-2 trade, a la what Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports them to be pushing on the New York Yankees. There are scenarios, though, in which they score multiple arms in a deal.

So without further ado, let's ponder what the Yankees and five other teams—none of whom share the National League West with the Padres—could send to San Diego for Soto.

Note: All farm system and prospect rankings are courtesy of B/R's Joel Reuter.

Trade Proposal: Philadelphia Phillies get LF Juan Soto; San Diego Padres get RHP Mick Abel, RHP Griff McGarry

Why It Works

Maybe it's just me, but Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski's long history of impact trades inevitably comes to mind whenever a superstar is purportedly available.

A trade for Soto would be quite the addition to that history, not to mention a move that would really have the Phillies pointed back in the right direction after their disappointing loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series.

A lineup with Soto, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos? That's just plain lethal, so much so that the Phillies could even hope to challenge Atlanta for the best offense in the National League East next season.

In exchange, this proposal would see the Padres getting back the No. 23 prospect (Abel) in MLB plus the No. 5 talent in the Phillies' system (McGarry). Though neither has major league experience yet, both made it as far as Triple-A in 2023.

Why It Doesn't Work

Alas, Soto on the Phillies is very likely wishful thinking. According to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer, they're not involved in the Soto sweepstakes.

That's probably for the best, given that their main priority post-Aaron Nola signing should be their bullpen. And even if they were in on Soto, trading two of their best pitching prospects for one year of Soto's services wouldn't be the best idea.

Trade Proposal: Chicago Cubs get LF Juan Soto; San Diego Padres get RHP Ben Brown, LHP Jordan Wicks

Why It Works

Bad news, Cubs fans. Or, more accurately, a report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today that the club won't be getting the good news it's hoping for on Ohtani:

If true, then Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer needs to get his Padres counterpart, A.J. Preller, on the horn, like, right now.

Soto has never and will never pitch like Ohtani, but he's one of very few left-handed hitters who can offer similar power and even better on-base acumen. With Bellinger having taken a .356 OBP and 26 homers with him into free agency, the Cubs surely need both.

Though Cade Horton is the best pitching prospect in Chicago's National League-best farm system, this trade would hardly be a case of the Padres settling. Brown and Wicks are the No. 67 and No. 77 prospects in MLB, respectively, and both have MLB experience.

Why It Doesn't Work

With Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki on the corners and defensive wiz Pete Crow-Armstrong set to take over in center, the Cubs would seem a little too set in the outfield to also have room for Soto.

True, the Cubs could hypothetically slot him in at designated hitter. But if he's not going to play the field, then you're swapping two top 100 prospects for one year of a bat-only player. Value-wise, that's an iffy proposition for the Cubs.

Trade Proposal: Texas Rangers get LF Juan Soto; San Diego Padres get RHP Owen White, RHP Brock Porter, RHP Jack Leiter

Why It Works

Speaking of teams that may be out of the running for Ohtani, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on Friday that this is also the Rangers' fate.

Which is too bad, considering how well the Rangers and Ohtani suit each other on paper. He badly wants to win, and they're the World Series champions. He's a DH who should return to pitching in 2025, and they need...well, someone just like that.

But if the Rangers are indeed out on Ohtani, well, why not turn to Soto? They're obviously a win-now team, and all it would take to slot him into left field is moving super-rookie Evan Carter to center in place of the light-hitting Leody Taveras.

For their part, this trade would net the Padres MLB's No. 83 and No. 100 prospects in White and Porter, plus a lottery ticket in Leiter. His stock has plummeted in the two years since he was the No. 2 pick of the 2021 draft, but it's too soon for anyone to give up on him.

Why It Doesn't Work

Ah, but just because the Rangers are a win-now team doesn't mean they can put blinders on when it comes to their future.

With Jacob deGrom recovering from Tommy John surgery and Nathan Eovaldi, Max Scherzer and Andrew Heaney possibly slated for free agency after 2024, they should be keeping a tight grip on their young arms.

Trade Proposal: Seattle Mariners get LF Juan Soto; San Diego Padres get RHP Bryce Miller, RHP Emerson Hancock

Why It Works

The Mariners are yet another speculative fit for Soto, but at least the guy doing the speculating is a guy who's firmly in the know. It's none other than Heyman:

It's true that a lot of money has come off Seattle's books. The gap between what they spent in 2023 and what they project to spend in 2024 is $21 million wide, or nearly wide enough for Soto and his projected salary.

It's otherwise not hard to see how Soto fits with the Mariners. He'd take Jarred Kelenic's place in left field and provide additional pop alongside 30-homer sluggers Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh. And, not to fear, Soto is a solid contact hitter as well.

Otherwise, if there's anything the Mariners can definitely spare, it's pitching. Miller is a former top prospect and Hancock is presently Seattle's No. 9 prospect. Both could step right into San Diego's rotation and potentially stay there for years on end.

Why It Doesn't Work

Honestly? I picked out Miller and Hancock because it's hard to imagine the Mariners giving up Logan Gilbert or George Kirby and because a package of Miller and Bryan Woo just seemed too steep.

Though Miller and Hancock might be fair in a vacuum, it's hard to escape the notion that the Padres can do better. Both right-handers are more high-floor than high-ceiling guys, and it's the latter the Padres should want for a star of Soto's stature.

Trade Proposal: Toronto Blue Jays get LF Juan Soto; San Diego Padres get LHP Ricky Tiedemann, RHP Bowden Francis

Why It Works

There's no need to speculate on whether the Blue Jays are in on Soto. As first reported on Saturday by Héctor Gómez of Z101 Digital, they are:

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins has been open about wanting to add position players this winter, so the club's interest in Soto tracks just to that extent.

More specifically, the Blue Jays need left-handed oomph alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. Their best lefty hitters this season were Brandon Belt and Kevin Kiermaier, both of whom are now free agents.

Per Kuty, Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic, of interest to San Diego could be a package consisting of one or more of Tiedemann, Francis and Alek Manoah. The latter is the big name there, but he's also a fallen All-Star while Tiedemann is MLB's No. 33 prospect and Francis quietly permitted sub-.200 averages on his fastball and curveball in 2023.

Why It Doesn't Work

All Francises aside, Tiedemann and Manoah are the best pitchers the Padres can hope to extract from the Blue Jays, who otherwise lack shiny trade chips in their 25th-ranked farm system. And even they have serious question marks.

Regarding Manoah, well, we all saw what happened to him this year. Tiedemann, meanwhile, was on the sidelines for half the minor league season with a shoulder injury. So as centerpieces go, both might as well have "Buyer Beware" labels.

Trade Proposal: New York Yankees get LF Juan Soto, CF Trent Grisham; San Diego Padres get RHP Michael King, RHP Drew Thorpe

Why It Works

When word started trickling out that the Yankees were in on Soto, the only appropriate reaction was this: "Good."

Following a year in which even Aaron Judge couldn't prevent their outfield from posting a league-low 1.1 rWAR, the Yankees need impact outfielders. If they're left-handed hitters, even better. The club got only 55 home runs from that side of the plate this season.

Soto and Grisham are, obviously, both left-handed-hitting outfielders. Call the latter a throw-in if you want, but the Yankees are maybe the only team in the Soto sweepstakes that could actually use Grisham. At the least, he would grace them with Gold Glove-caliber defense until top prospect Jasson Domínguez is back from Tommy John surgery.

According to both Rosenthal and Kuty, the Yankees really don't want to part with King and Thorpe—whose prospect stock is on the rise after a brilliant pro debut—in a deal with the Padres. But if the question is whether they should, the vote here is yes.

Why It Doesn't Work

OK, so, this is nothing like the 8-for-2 trade concepts that the Padres have supposedly pitched to the Yankees. Yet it works for both sides.

King and Thorpe would bring ample upside to San Diego, which would also shed about $38 million in projected salaries. And as much as losing both would hurt the Yankees, at least they will have kept their best pitching prospect in right-hander Chase Hampton.

Not that the Yankees need any more reasons to go for broke on Soto, but it's also high time they reminded everyone they're still the Yankees.

Such things as internal audits and Brian Cashman's whining have fostered a certain sense of fecklessness that isn't at all befitting of a 27-time World Series champion that was once known as the "Evil Empire." They're better than this. Or should be, anyway.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.