The Juan Soto trade sweepstakes are just getting warmed up but one thing is clear: it is going to take a massive haul to get any deal done for the Washington Nationals slugger.
“It’s going to be like Kevin Durant,” a top decision-maker for an MLB team recently told Audacy’s Jon Heyman.
Durant, of course, is one of the biggest stars and top talents in the NBA who recently requested a trade, which would require a historic package to complete.
The 23-year-old Soto is in a similar position. He recently turned down a 15-year, $440 million extension and the Nationals are now open to trading the star, who is one of the best hitters in baseball and still has the entire prime of his career ahead of him.
Generational players like Soto, especially at his age, do not often become available via trade, especially when they do not even become a free agent for another 2-and-a-half years. Which is why it would take a possibly unprecedented trade package to acquire such a star.
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According to Heyman, the speculation — and we stress speculation because Heyman noted this is all still unconfirmed — is that the Nationals would want a team’s top four prospects and/or young major leaguers as well as possibly taking on a bad contract, such as Patrick Corbin.
Again, this is all speculation, but that is quite the haul for any team to be willing to give up.
So much so, Heyman noted that it may be difficult for a deal to be reached by the Aug. 2 trade deadline. Yet, trade talks could resume around Soto in the offseason if he’s not dealt at the deadline.
Any team looking to tilt the scales in their favor, or build around a generational star, would be interested in Soto.
Heyman lists the Rangers, Dodgers, Padres, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Giants and Cubs as teams who could potentially make a run at the star.
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