The San Diego Padres on Tuesday won the Juan Soto sweepstakes.
The Padres acquired Soto and first baseman Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals. In return, the Padres are sending the Nationals a large group of prospects. The prospects include shortstop C.J. Abrams, outfielder James Wood, outfielder Robert Hassell and top pitching prospects MacKenzie Gore and Jarlin Susana. Abrams, Hassell and Gore are all former first-round picks.
The Padres’ acquisition of Soto certainly changes the face of the National League playoff race. Assuming Fernando Tatis Jr. returns healthy, San Diego will have an outstanding middle of the order that also includes Manny Machado. The Padres also appear to have managed to get the deal done without giving up any major contributors to their MLB roster.
San Diego was long viewed as the favorite to nab Soto. General manager A.J. Preller was determined to not get beaten on this deal, and his team now has the pieces to seriously challenge for a World Series.
