What held up the Yankees-Padres trade for Juan Soto? Everything to know
By Mark Powell
UPDATE: The Juan Soto trade has finally been completed, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Full trade, per ESPN sources:
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 7, 2023
Yankees receive: outfielders Juan Soto and Trent Grisham.
Padres receive: right-handed pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito and catcher Kyle Higashioka.@Joelsherman1 was on top of the deal.
Yet, the trade wasn't always a slam dunk. Here's what happened.
The New York Yankees and San Diego Padres are nearing a trade involving Juan Soto. That much we know, per reports. The expectation is that a deal will still go through.
However, as we learned last offseason, agreements on contracts and trades are no guarantee until they are made official by MLB and the teams. Soto is clean, we would assume. Yet, some of the pitchers New York is sending back to San Diego have pre-existing injury issues. Per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, this is the trade package the two sides are close to agreeing upon.
The Yankees will acquire outfielders Soto and Trent Grisham from the San Diego Padres, if Morosi is correct. Heading over to San Diego to complete a trade is starting pitcher Michael King, No. 5 prospect Drew Thorpe, No. 13 prospect Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito, and Kyle Higashioka.
Both King and Thorpe have suffered recent injuries, as King broke his elbow a few seasons back and Thorpe has a bad shoulder.
What's holding up the Juan Soto trade?
A.J. Preller and Co. want to get this trade right, as Soto is a top-5 offensive player in all of baseball. The Padres also traded a lot for Soto in a deal with the Washington Nationals in August of 2022. While San Diego's front office should not expect the same kind of return as Washington received, Soto remains quite valuable, even with just one year left on his deal.
The delay on the Juan Soto trade is coming from San Diego's side as they review medicals/information. Stay tuned.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) December 6, 2023
It doesn't help that most the Padres scouts and personnel aren't directly involved in making this trade happen on Wednesday night.
The Padres are at the professional baseball scouts dinner, so it will be hours, or perhaps tomorrow, until a Soto deal is finalized.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 7, 2023
Per Andy Martino of SNY, there is plenty of optimism on both sides that a deal will eventually come to fruition.
I’m hearing cautious optimism that issues can be worked out and Juan Soto to Yankees will proceed. A lot of work has gone into this from both sides . It was supposed to get done many hours ago, but it does not sound dead.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 7, 2023
FanSided's Scott Rogust initially rated the Yankees proposed trade package to San Diego an A. New York acquired one of the best offensive players in baseball for just one top-100 prospect in Thorpe. King finished the 2023 strong, and could be a solid rotation piece at 29 years old. The rest of the package is decent, but none of those players are as talented as Soto.
If New York really is all-in, this was a trade Brian Cashman had to make.
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