The New York Yankees, despite acquiring four players before the deadline, were interested in former Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto.
The San Diego Padres ended up acquiring him, but had to surrender most of their top prospects: pitchers MacKenzie Gore and Jarlin Susana, outfielders Robert Hassell III and James Wood, and infielder C.J. Abrams.
The Yankees tried, but felt on the outside looking in for a couple of days before Tuesday.
What happened?
According to NJ Advance Media’s Brendan Kuty, they knew that even including their top prospect, they couldn’t compete with the Padres, or even with the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Re: Juan Soto: The Yankees were always hopeful in their pursuit of the star outfielder, but they were realistic, figuring that even their best possible deal (even including Volpe) likely wouldn’t be enough to compete with the likes of Padres, Cardinals. Felt on outside days ago,” Kuty tweeted.
Re: Juan Soto: The Yankees were always hopeful in their pursuit of the star outfielder, but they were realistic, figuring that even their best possible deal (even including Volpe) likely wouldn’t be enough to compete with the likes of Padres, Cardinals. Felt on outside days ago.
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) August 2, 2022
San Diego Had Too Much To Offer
Once San Diego agreed to include Gore and Wood (he was reportedly the piece the Padres didn’t want to trade), nobody could compete except for the Cards.
St. Louis, however, did not want to include both Dylan Carlson AND top prospect Jordan Walker, so they were among the finalists but couldn’t secure the star.
The Padres now have one of the league’s top young stars.
At 23, Soto has already won a World Series, a batting title, two Silver Slugger awards, and two All-Star berths.
He is also a multiple-time top-ten MVP finisher in the National League without even turning 24.
He is compared to Ted Williams because of his blend of power, contact, and knowledge of the strike zone.
He is potentially an all-time great, but the Yankees couldn’t match his price even if they included top prospects Anthony Volpe or Jasson Dominguez.
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