Trade deadline day has arrived, and there's a leader in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, it appears.
It’s unclear if the Washington Nationals really will trade the star slugger, who has rejected each of Washington’s contract extension proposals. It will take a monumental return to trade for him, but he’s under team control through the 2024 season and one of the brightest young stars in the game.
The Nationals seem unwilling to budge from whatever their asking price is. But with the deadline nearing, The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga reported that momentum is building in Soto trade talks with the San Diego Padres – with first baseman Josh Bell involved.
Appearing Tuesday on “The Sports Junkies”, WaPo Nats beat writer Jesse Dougherty confirmed the report.
“I can hop on that and say I’ve heard that as well," Dougherty said. "And that while there is that sort of that group of three that has been rumored – which is Padres, Cardinals, Dodgers – as of this morning, things obviously can be fluid. What we’re hearing among reporters at the Washington Post and what we can put out publicly is that there is momentum with the Padres. They are certainly a name that keeps coming up, so we’ll see.
“Obviously, things can change. Last year, the Max Scherzer trade that never was with the Padres is a good example that maybe the Dodgers or someone else gets emboldened to say we are going to up our return then because we don’t want that to happen. That’s the sense this morning with hours to go until the deadline.”
The Padres have a loaded farm system, and despite sending a haul to the Brewers in their trade Monday for Josh Hader, the highest prospect they moved was No. 8. Having the top seven prospects still available from a great pipeline positions the Padres better than perhaps anyone else to pull off such a Soto trade.
The deadline is set for 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Looks like there could be a lot of craziness between now and then.
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