- Soto Traded to Yankees
- Yankees Eye Additional Moves
- Padres Reduce Payroll
Juan Soto is being traded to the New York Yankees, the team’s first significant move since its worst season in thirty years.
They expect at least one additional to follow.
Trent Grisham, center fielder for Soto and Gold Glove, was acquired by New York from the cost-cutting Padres. The trade took place in a blockbuster deal on Wednesday night. In addition to catcher Kyle Higashioka, San Diego was assigned right-handed pitchers Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, and Drew Thorpe.
In a span of under two years, the 25-year-old Soto was involved in his second monstrous transaction. One season of team control remains for the three-time All-Star slugger, who is expected to earn $32 million post-bat. In his only full season with the Padres, he hit 275 with 35 home runs, 109 RBIs, and.930.
Padres’ Strategic Move
San Diego acquired Soto from Washington on August 2, 2022, subsequent to his decline of the Nationals’ $440 million, 15-year offer.
General manager AJ Preller of the Padres stated that his club was in need of pitchers. The trade provides San Diego with youthful arms that will remain with the franchise for years to come.
“It is extremely difficult to reach an agreement in which we trade a player of Juan Soto’s calibre, but if we did, we wanted to ensure that a number of requirements were addressed. We achieved some depth with quality,” Preller said as baseball’s winter meetings came to a close at a late-night news conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
New York went 82-80 and dropped to 29th in the majors in batting average.
Soto joins an outfield for the Yankees that is anticipated to feature newly acquired Alex Verdugo in the opposite corner. Fellow All-Star Aaron Judge is expected to be in the center. Soto’s OPS in nine career contests in the Bronx is 1.274.
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Future Moves for the Yankees
Soto and Judge are the new formidable duo of Gotham, according to agent Scott Boras.
On Monday, Yankees executives will travel to California to meet with free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to information obtained by the Associated Press from a source familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity because further details were not disclosed. The 25-year-old right-hander for the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Pacific League went 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA this season.
Soto, like Verdugo, balances a right-handed-heavy lineup for several seasons with a left-handed batter. Last season, left-handed Yankees batters hit 55 home runs and collected 171 RBIs, while right-handed Yankees hit 164 home runs and collected 479 RBIs, creating an imbalance for a club that typically utilizes the short porch in the right.
“They exhibited aggression,” stated Preller. “They had a need, and Juan, who is an exceptional player, perfectly filled that need.” When two teams align, and one of them consistently contacts you, it is generally feasible to suspect that this could be a viable possibility; hopefully, both parties can agree.”
Padres’ Payroll Reduction Strategy
San Diego is reducing payroll by up to $50 million in an effort to overcome its failure to make the postseason. This is despite World Series aspirations last season. Following the free agency of NL Cy Young Award recipient Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, and Seth Lugo, the Padres also have a starting pitching need.
Comparable in age to Soto upon his entry into free agency is Bryce Harper, another client of Boras. Harper, 26, signed a $330 million, 13-year contract with Philadelphia before the 2019 season. Soto’s six-season major league career has been marked by a.284 batting average, 160 home runs, 483 RBI, and a.946 OPS. In 2019, he was instrumental in the Nationals’ World Series victory.
In exchange for Soto and first baseman Josh Bell, San Diego sent a plethora of promising prospects to Washington, including starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore and shortstop CJ Abrams. The Padres deemed the transaction profitable due to the fact that Soto would be available for all three postseason campaigns. He assisted the team in advancing to the NL Championship Series in 2022. However, despite having Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Xander Bogaerts in their lineup, the Padres struggled last season.
Although the Padres might have made an effort to secure Soto for a lengthy contract, Boras typically has a preference. His top clients are usually available as free agents.
“It’s fantastic when one can sign players for the long haul, but doing so also comes at a price,” Preller explained. Attaining players who are under our control, whom we believe will perform admirably and remain with us for multiple years, was, in my opinion, a strategic decision that substantially expanded our opportunities.
Right-handed King, age 28, pitches a sinking fastball that travels between 94 and 96 mph on average. During the previous season, he went 4-8 in nine starts and 40 relief appearances with an ERA of 2.75. He excelled in 104.2/3 innings, generating 127 strikeouts and 32 walks after being promoted from the bullpen to the starting lineup on August 24.
A free agent, King, is a possibility following the 2025 season.
Last season, Brito, who will turn 26 in February, debuted in the major leagues with the Yankees. In 13 starts and 12 relief appearances, he went 9-7 with a 4.28 ERA and one save. Seventy-two were struck out against 28 walks in nineteen and a half innings.
Vásquez, 25, made his major league debut this season and went 2-2 with a 2.87 ERA in five starts and six relief appearances.
Higashioka, who will turn 34 in April, has batted alongside New York for his entire seven-year major league career. 236 last season with ten home runs, 34 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.687. He was Gerrit Cole’s favourite battery man during their adolescent years as teammates. Next autumn, Higashioka may also become a free agent.
Selected in the second round of the 2022 amateur draft, 23-year-old Thorpe finished the previous season 14-2 with a 2.52 ERA at Class A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset. One hundred eighty-two were struck out against 38 walks in 139 1/3 innings.
Two-time Gold Glove winner Grisham batted this season.198, 13 HR, 50 RBIs, 15 steals,.666 OPS. He is eligible for salary arbitration, giving the Yankees a legitimate part-time centre fielder.
