Juan Soto trade not off the table, says Padres GM, but extension for young slugger is ‘first path’

Earlier this week, the San Diego Padres introduced that supervisor Bob Melvin will go back for the 2024 season. Now, the greatest query going through the Padres is whether or not or not Melvin could have big name outfielder Juan Soto at his disposal. 

Soto, 24, will qualify for unfastened company after the 2024 marketing campaign. Given that 1) the Padres have already made profitable long-term commitments to different stars — Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Xander Bogaerts incorporated — and a couple of) contemporary stories point out that San Diego will glance to chop payroll this iciness, it stands to reason why {that a} Soto extension would possibly fall outdoor in their convenience zone. That, in flip, may just precipitate an offseason trade that sends Soto somewhere else.

General supervisor A.J. Preller reiterated this week that the “first path” with Soto stays an extension. Preller, even though, did concede rather when he requested if a trade may well be on the desk. “We’ve never been a group that says no to anything. I wouldn’t read into that. That’s just kind of the way we operate,” he stated, according to MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. 

The Padres’ need to fasten in Soto to a long-term deal is not anything new. Back in August, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the Padres were “aggressively” trying to extend Soto, “just as they have all season.” Those efforts have so far didn’t development to the level completion, even though issues can exchange briefly in negotiations if one aspect starts to really feel a better sense of urgency.

Soto has endured to be certainly one of the most efficient hitters in Major League Baseball since becoming a member of the Padres in a midseason trade all the way through the 2022 marketing campaign. Indeed, he is batted .265/.405/.488 (151 OPS+) with 41 house runs and 125 RBI in 214 video games out west. Soto’s mixture of juvenile and observe file must make him certainly one of, if not the maximum fascinating participant on the marketplace.

For now, Soto will head into his ultimate iciness of arbitration eligibility with a projected prize of $33 million, according to Matt Swartz’s model.