The Padres and Nationals have reportedly agreed to a Juan Soto trade
MLB Trade Rumors: A trade of Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres from the Washington Nationals has been agreed to in principle, per Jon Morosi. Morosi previously reported that the St. Louis Cardinals were firm on not including outfielder Dylan Carlson in the deal, which was making them an unlikely landing spot. Jon Heyman identified the Padres, the Cardinals and the Dodgers as the three teams that were still in the mix and making a serious push earlier today.
The Nationals are also reportedly sending first baseman/DH Josh Bell to the Padres in this deal. Bell is a free agent after the 2022 season, but Soto is under team control through 2024.
Morosi says the Padres are giving up C.J. Abrams, Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Jarlin Susana as part of this deal.
We will continue to update as more information comes in on what is a pretty massive trade.
UPDATE — In regards to the pieces going to Washington, Abrams and Hassell are the top two prospects in the Padres’ system, per Baseball America, with Wood ranked #4 and Susana #10. Abrams is #11 on the Baseball America top 100 list, Hassell is #25, and Wood is #62.
The 21 year old Abrams is a shortstop who was the #6 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, and who has been highly regarded, but who had played just 76 professional games coming into the 2022 season due to the COVID pandemic and, in 2021, a broken leg that cost him the majority of the season. Abrams has slashed .314/.364/.507 in 30 games for AAA El Paso this season, and also spent time in the majors when the Padres were searching for someone to fill in for Fernando Tatis, Jr., slashing .232/.285/.320 in 46 games.
Hassell, who turns 21 next month, was the #8 overall pick in the 2020 draft. Rangers fans may recall him being in the center of trade talk involving Texas in 2021, with rumors saying that the Padres were discussing a deal that would have sent Hassell and Eric Hosmer (who has a bad contract that San Diego has been trying to divest itself of for a while) to Texas for Joey Gallo. He has a .299/.379/.467 slash line in high-A this year while playing center field.
Wood, 19, was a second round pick of the Padres in 2021, though his $2.6M signing bonus was the highest amount San Diego paid in 2021, and $800,000 more than the Padres signed first rounder Jackson Merrill for. He’s had a terrific year for low-A Lake Elsinore, slashing .337/.453/.601 while playing center field.
Susana, 18, is a righthanded pitcher who was signed out of the Dominican Republic. He has a 2.45 ERA in 29.1 professional innings, all in the Arizona Complex League this year. Susana signed for a $1.7M signing bonus in January of this year.
UPDATE II — Joel Sherman is saying that Mackenzie Gore and Eric Hosmer are also in this deal. Hosmer is owed $13 million per year from 2023-25, and is generally seen as a 1-2 win player at this point.
Gore, 23, was the #3 overall pick in the 2017 draft. He was considered a top 10 prospect until an awful 2021 season, where he pitched on 50 innings and didn’t look good, resulted in his stock dropping. Gore has spent most of 2022 in the majors, with a 4.50 ERA in 70 innings over 13 starts and three relief appearances.
UPDATE III — Hosmer has a no-trade clause he will have to waive in order for this deal to go through. Scott Boras represents Hosmer, Soto, Bell, Gore and Wood, so one thinks that this should not be a hurdle.
UPDATE IV — Hosmer has exercised his no-trade clause and will not be included in this deal. The deal is apparently going forward without Hosmer.