The San Diego Padres acquired by far the best player available prior to the trade deadline in Juan Soto.
He is under team control for the next two seasons in addition to what is left of 2022, so the Padres sent most of their top prospects (MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, CJ Abrams, James Wood, and Jarlin Susana) for the right to acquire Soto and first baseman Josh Bell.
Soto will go from the worst team in the National League to a bonafide contender now, and will join forces with fellow stars Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. as the Padres will try to make a deep playoff run.
That alone should be reason for excitement for the young slugger.
In fact, he shared his new “Padres look” through an NBA star.
“Juan Soto updated his Instagram story with a salute from Victor Oladipo. It is clear he and others are just waiting on the i’s and t’s,” Maria Torres of The Athletic tweeted on Monday.
Juan Soto updated his Instagram story with a salute from Victor Oladipo. It is clear he and others are just waiting on the i’s and t’s. pic.twitter.com/VXckosNhyC
— Maria Torres (@maria_torres3) August 2, 2022
Soto Will Make The Padres A Lot Better
It’s a fake picture, of course, but it’s just so we all have an idea of what Soto will look like once he is ready to wear his new uniform.
That is expected to be tomorrow: today should be a travel day for him, as he joins his new team.
Now that Eric Hosmer refused to be part of the original deal, the Padres will likely have to send another player to Washington.
The deal is happening anyway: Soto will be a Padre for, at least, the next two-and-a-half seasons.
He is having a somewhat down year, but is slashing .246/.408/.485 with 21 home runs and 62 RBI.
Many players would dream about putting those numbers.
He should be a hit in San Diego.
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