Dodgers NL West Rival Padres Finally Agree to Trade Juan Soto to Yankees

The San Diego Padres and New York Yankees have finally agreed on a Juan Soto trade. After weeks of negotiations, the Padres have sent superstar outfielder Juan Soto along with Trent Grisham to the Yankees in exchange for Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Kyle Higashioka and Randy Vasquez. Dennis Lin of The Athletic had the complete package.

In an offseason that’s been dominated by Shohei Ohtani rumors, this trade represents an actual transaction involving a superstar that dramatically shifts the baseball landscape.

Soto, 25, is one of the best young players in baseball. Now he’s moving on from a Padres team that underachieved in 2023 to a Yankees team that had similar issues.

The Yankees, however, have been very active in fixing their problems thus far this offseason.

Late Tuesday night, the Yankees acquired former Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo from the division-rival Boston Red Sox. And now, they acquire one of baseball’s best players in Juan Soto.

This move is great for the Dodgers, who won’t have to face Soto 13 times next season as a member of the Padres. It’s never fun facing a talent like Soto, and he’ll now be out of the NL West — at least for 2024. Soto is a free agent after next year. At that point, he’ll be free to sign wherever he wants.

Additionally, this move confirms the fact that the Padres want to cut payroll this offseason, which could mean more moves are on the horizon. Soto was in line to make over $30 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility. Clearly, the Padres did not want to pay him that with the risk of him leaving after 2024 for nothing.

Expect the Padres to continue to be active in trade discussions, possibly moving off of more of their big contracts. They currently have five players – Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Xander Bogaerts – signed to long-term contracts in excess of $100 million. The Dodgers only have two.

Are the Yankees Out of the Yoshinobu Yamamoto Sweepstakes Following the Juan Soto Trade?

As for the Yankees’ side of things, New York has already acquired two players this offseason, but they’re not stopping there. According to Andy Martino of SNY, the Yankees are very comfortable going over the $300 million payroll threshold this year, and will still be in play for top free agents, including right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

“The Yankees are willing to raise their payroll to more than $300 million for the first time in order to add Juan Soto and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to sources familiar with owner Hal Steinbrenner’s thinking.

“Absolutely,” one source said. “One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.””

Via Andy Martino, SNY

The Dodgers are among the many top-market teams going after Yamamoto, but this trade does not make their path any clearer. They’ll still be competing with both New York teams for Yamamoto, among others.

Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports