Juan Soto trade rumors: Why the Braves never stood a chance

Tuesday is the MLB Trade Deadline and it looks like the Nationals could trade Juan Soto before the deadline. But the Braves never stood a chance.

The St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers are the finalists for the Juan Soto sweepstakes with the Washington Nationals. Soto is only 23 years old and is one of, if not, the best hitters in the world right now. The Atlanta Braves are in some need of outfield help but they never were even in the mix.

Here’s why the Braves never stood a chance to get Juan Soto before the trade deadline.

Why the Braves are not in on Juan Soto

There are a few reasons why the Atlanta Braves were not even in consideration and, maybe, even in last among the 29 teams that the Nationals could trade Soto to.

First and foremost, the situation would be a loser for both sides. The Braves would have to trade a lot of their young MLB talent to the Nationals. Do they really want five or six of their best MLB players on the Nationals for a half decade or more? On the other hand, the Nationals would be admitting defeat for the next three seasons (including this one). Do they want to face Juan Soto a dozen or more times per year for the next two years and help the Braves (their divisional rival) win another World Series? No.

Secondly, the Braves don’t have the prospects to get a deal done. They have one prospect in MLB.com’s Top 100 in shortstop Vaughn Grissom, who is the No. 100 prospect. The Braves would have to deal almost exclusively from their MLB team. A playoff team trading two or three starters from their rotation and some everyday players would not be advised to get one player.

It would be a dream for Braves fans to imagine Austin Riley, Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, and Juan Soto in their lineup for the next two-plus seasons but it will not be happening, unless they sign Soto on the free agent market, which is also very unlikely.