The Phillies shuttling opposing players, specifically Juan Soto, across the country last week was nothing more than a courtesy.
On occasion, opposing players and teams will help each other out as they coordinate trips to and from the All-Star Game. Such was the case for the Phillies, as the Padres star flew back to Philadelphia with members of the Phillies ahead of their weekend set at Citizens Bank Park.
With the Padres in a freefall – though they are hesitant to sell – there was something interesting about the mere concept of Soto, who theoretically could be traded in less than two weeks, on a plane with members of the Phillies.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson explained how things came together on the 94 WIP Morning Show.
“When we went to (Seattle), we left from Miami and flew to (Seattle), we took two of the Miami players with us," Thomson said. "And it was something that we offered to the Miami people because we were taking a charter, we had our entire coaching staff and had Nick (Castellanos) and Craig Kimbrel.
“And so we just offered it up, thinking that other teams would do that for us if we had that opportunity. So we had the two Miami players and probably, I don’t know, 10 or 15 of their family members on our charter.
“So we did the same thing coming back with the San Diego guys, figuring they were starting the second half here. So that was really all it was, it was just a courtesy that we threw out there to the other teams.”
Though Thomson didn’t name them, the Marlins’ two All-Stars were Luis Arraez and Jorge Soler. Josh Hader was the Padres’ only All-Star other than Soto.
Asked about any interactions with Soto, Thomson kept it focused on their time at the All-Star Game.
“We spent a little bit of time with him out there in (Seattle), and he seemed great. He seemed very professional, went about his work, he seemed good.”
The Phillies weren’t the only ones this year to end up in such a situation. Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen hooked up A’s All-Star Brent Rooker with a spot on his private jet from Boston to Seattle after Rooker's flight was delayed.
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