The news surfaced on Saturday People Outfielder Juan Soto Will be available A 15-year deal worth $ 440 million in trade negotiations after he rejected Washington’s latest extension proposal. The public is expected to demand a ton in return for Soto, and of course. After all, he is 23 years old, already inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Soto hit a career .292 / .427 / .540 (160 OPS +) slash line, 117 home runs, and over 2,000 big league at-bats with over 21 home runs on Saturday. He will not be able to qualify as a free agent until the end of the 2024 season. This means that if the team wins him by this deadline, he will be towing him in three playoff runs.
Of course, it is anyone’s guess that the public may agree to trade in Soto before the August 2 deadline. It seems unlikely that such a blockbuster will come together so quickly, but then it’s baseball and something strange is happening.
So which team is best for landing Soto? Below, CBS Sports ranked 29 non-national clubs for their potential to close a deal.
USATSI
Tier 1: Free, no play
29. Athletics
28. Marlins
27. Raise
26. Pirates
twenty five. Guardians
twenty four. Brewery
We are amortizing these six teams because of the financial component. Even if they did not try to extend Soto, they would have to pay his substantive arbitration award. It’s not the style of these teams. The flag is flying forever and there is plenty of time to trade with Soto to regain prospects at a later date, so competing Rays, Guardians, or Brewers consider buying Soto for a stretch run. You can argue that you need to. We like the idea, but we suspect that such an operation rarely happens anymore and will be relaunched at this expected size of the transaction.
Tier 2: Rebuilder R’Us
twenty three. Royals
twenty two. Reds
twenty one. Diamondbacks
20. Orioles
19. Rockies
18.18. Tigers
While acknowledging that some of these six teams appear to be closer to returning to a more competitive rank than others, they pose a serious threat to meet the Nationals asking price. I don’t think. But then it would be cooler.
USATSI
Tier 3: Something is missing
17.17. Cubs
16.16. Rangers
15. 15. White sox
14. Angels
13.13. twins
12.12. Padres
To be as fun (or frustrating) as seeing Soto lined up with Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., etc., we find that they are a component of finance or outlook. Either is missing. Of all the layers so far, this is the first thing we feel that the team from here can actually play-in other words, we are getting warmer.
Tier 4: Rivals, not friends
11.11. Braves
10.10. Phillies
9.9. Mets
The question asked by the public is whether they are willing to trade Soto within the department. If so, these teams should be moved to the top tier, and Mets in particular stands out as one of his top potential landing points. If not, and face it. Teams usually don’t want to trade their country’s superstars for rivals that are always seen both at home and on the go throughout the season. This represents the upper limit for this group. Regardless of the answer, Mets (and especially Steve Cohen’s thick purse) could serve as a useful boogieman for Soto and his representative whenever he puts a pen on paper in a new contract. I have.
USATSI
Tier 5: A big market competitor …
8.8. Astros
7. Blue Jays
6.6. Red Sox
Soto makes sense for any of these three teams (all competitive and based in major media markets), but whether the front office is willing to commit to the terms and conditions he demands. I’m wondering. Both Astros and Red Sox are generally managed by former Rays executives who traded or said goodbye to Mookie Betts, George Springer, Carlos Correa, etc. in recent seasons instead of distributing large extensions. It has been. (Soto can be claimed to be at another level, but those players haven’t chopped up the liver exactly.) Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have recently shown a willingness to sign big deals, but probably. We are looking to expand our collection of unique young stars such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, who are headed by former Guardians executives who have them. Do they have enough money to do both, or do they have a detachment to choose Soto over them? We accept that possibility, but we are not sure.
Tier 6: Top 5
5.5. Mariners
The Mariners make sense on paper. They have a good farm system. They have few long-term commitments. They have a very active general manager who has every reason to push the pedal into the metal to end the sport’s longest playoff drought. Will Jerry Dipoto feel comfortable breaking up with some of his top prospects, led by shortstop Noelvi Marte and pitcher George Kirby and Matt Brash? I don’t know, but he has a duty to think about it.
4.4. Giant
The Giants have created a track of dark horses such as Giancarlo Stanton and Bryce Harper in the past.CEO Farhan Zaidi also knows everything about chasing stars from his time as a member. Dodgers Front office. The Giants have few meaningful long-term commitments, and Soto acts as the face of the franchise and the spiritual successor to Buster Posey. The catch is that Zaidi doesn’t have the outlook warbox that some of his competitors have, it has to regain a bad deal like Patrick Corbin to make up for it. It means that it may be.
3.3. Yankees
Due to the Yankees’ economic strength and history of taking advantage of this type of situation, it is legally required to include the Yankees at the top of these lists. Brian Cashman has continued to have prospects like Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza in recent years, giving him some legitimate youth bandies. An interesting wrinkle of the Yankees is that they haven’t solved the situation for Aaron Judge yet. The only way the Yankees fan base can be alleviated if they let the judges walk after this season is whether Soto is at hand or in the middle-and hey, a legitimate baseball reason for a long-term commitment. There are a lot of him beyond the judge, such as age, achievements, injury history, etc.
2. Dodgers
Like the Yankees, the Dodgers are always at the top of these lists. Andrew Friedman has shown in the past that he is ready to pony for elite players, and Soto fits in that respect. Depending on how the Nationals value the Dodgers’ top young people (Bobby Miller, Diego Cartaya, Andy Pages, etc.), Los Angeles is probably in the blueprint shown in the Giants section. You have to obey. Contract in addition to Soto. It may not be a big deal for Friedman and the company, as they did the same when they got the Mookie Betts from Boston.
1.1. Cardinal
This is almost certainly under-aged, but yes, I think the Cardinal has the clearest path to the acquisition of Soto. They have defeated Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in recent seasons and have had a huge impact on Francisco Lindor and others, demonstrating their willingness and willingness to add blockbusters. Cardinals can also offer packages that include combinations such as Jordan Walker, Machine Win, Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neal and more. In addition, they will be out of the book after the 2024 season, or just as Soto’s extension cranks up to cover his free agent year. Soto may prefer to play on the beach, but shy Mike Rizzo should point one of the first calls about Soto to the Cardinal.
