Padres shouldn't regret Juan Soto trade no matter how awful it looks now

Back in August of 2022, the Washington Nationals sent star outfielder Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres in exchange for C.J. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit. This turned out to be an absolute haul for the Nationals, one that has come back to haunt San Diego as Abrams and Wood have put on a show at Petco Park this week.

When the Nationals and Padres squared off on Tuesday, C.J. Abrams and James Wood did some damage against San Diego. These two young talents combined to go 6-of-10 with six runs scored, one homer and four RBIs. Padres fans were quick to make the connection that those two could still be in a San Diego uniform, especially since Soto was traded to the New York Yankees in the winter of 2023 and is now with the New York Mets.

But Padres fans should not have regrets about this deal whatsoever. When San Diego decided to pull the trigger at the 2022 trade deadline, it did so in an attempt to capture the franchise's first-ever World Series title. There was, of course, risk involved: Knowing Soto's worth and his contract status at the time, the Padres were fully aware they might lose him in free agency in 18 months' time. That risk ultimately came to pass, and sooner than anyone expected.

But just because things did not go as planned doesn't mean the Soto deal should be viewed as a bad trade. Hindsight is 20/20, but at the time the Padres had every reason to think that Soto could be the final piece to a championship puzzle. And there was so much uncertainty among players involved that no one could predict what things would look like in the present day.

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Present-day results should not haunt Padres' past with Juan Soto

There is no doubt that watching Wood and Abrams (and even Gore) blossom into young stars in Washington has to be frustrating as a Padres fan. But there are some other facts to consider before labeling the Soto trade a failure. At the time of the deal, Wood was a toolsy but raw second-round pick, and no one was quite sure what he was capable of. Even his most glowing prospect reports likely didn't predict him becoming the player he is today.

Additionally, the 2022 Padres roster after acquiring Soto was simply loaded. A lineup that consists of Juan Soto, Jurickson Profar, Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Ha-Seong Kim, Trent Grisham, Josh Bell and Wil Myers is more than capable of doing some serious damage. That is not to mention a starting rotation of Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Blake Snell, with Josh Hader at the back-end of the bullpen. That team was loaded for bear, and if they'd gotten a couple of breaks along the way, they could well have won it all.

San Diego put all of their eggs in one basket in 2022 chasing a ring and just fell short of their goal after falling to the Philadephia Phillies in the NLCS. It is easy to be upset with the trade itself, but realistically, if Padres fans want to have negative emotions about the Soto trade, it should be that their team just under-performed when it mattered most.

At the time, this was a core worth investing in, Soto had an extra year of team control left and owner Peter Seidler's historic payroll investment gave credence to the idea that the Padres might actually be able to either sign the outfielder to an extension or make a real run at him in free agency. Seidler's untimely passing threw a tragic wrench into that plan, and Soto's $765 million deal with the Mets makes the whole idea seem a bit quaint in hindsight. But while the Padres would objectively be better off today if they'd have held on to Wood, Abrams and Gore, it's hard to get too worked up at AJ Preller.