Juan Soto trade rumors: Dodgers shouldn’t be overlooked in sweepstakes

The Los Angeles Dodgers should not be overlooked in Juan Soto trade rumors.

The Washington Nationals could decide to trade outfielder Juan Soto before Tuesday’s trade deadline. Rightfully so, there are 29 teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, that would love to have him on their team for the next two years and two months but only a handful of teams will actually be able to give the Nationals what they want: one of the big prospect hauls in a trade in modern history.

One of those teams is the Dodgers and, perhaps, more than any other team in the sport, they have the ability to pull off a deal for Juan Soto.

The Dodgers don’t need Juan Soto but if they traded for him, the best team in the National League would be even stronger

The Los Angeles Dodgers shouldn’t be overlooked in a trade for Juan Soto for just that reason: they are the Dodgers. They have become the Evil Empire of the West and the team that the Yankees were in the late 1990s and early 2000s under George Steinbrenner.

The Dodgers want to win at all costs and have shown as much already. They already have a payroll of $273+ million, according to Spotrac. They have six players with a salary of $20+ million per season, including four players that they signed or traded for before the 2021 season.

If there is any team that Soto would want to go to in order to keep winning, it’s the Dodgers. If there’s any team that can afford him long-term, it’s the Dodgers. If there’s any team that has the prospects to trade for him and are willing to part with them, it’s also the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have six prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100 and they have shown that they are willing to part with prospects in the past. They have done it with Mookie Betts (and David Price) and Trea Turner (and Max Scherzer) in recent years and, now, they have two of the best players on their team for prospects that, as of now, are nowhere close to that caliber.

It would be the ultimate Dodgers move so if Juan Soto is actually traded here in the next few days, don’t be surprised if it’s the Dodgers.