Nationals trade Juan Soto and Josh Bell to Padres for prospects

The Washington Nationals sent shock waves through Major League Baseball on Tuesday by trading Juan Soto, a World Series champion and two-time All-Star at just 23 years old, to the San Diego Padres.

Nats’ first baseman Josh Bell, who is slashing .301/.384/.493, will also be going with Soto to San Diego as the Washington front office tears its non-contending team down to the studs.

In return for Soto and Bell, the Nationals receive two promising MLB rookies, three highly-touted minor league prospects from the Padres, and perhaps even more. Original reports of the deal included Eric Hosmer, the veteran first baseman who has a no-trade clause in his contract. Hosmer has, reportedly, refused to waive that clause. At the time of this writing, industry belief is that the deal will still happen, and Soto will be a Padre by the deadline, but the San Diego front office will have to come up with something that does not involve Hosmer.

Left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore, who was the third overall pick in the 2017 draft, headlines the return package. Gore is a 23-year-old rookie (and fourth-ranked prospect on San Diego’s farm in 2021) who put up a 4.50 ERA in his first 70 MLB innings for the Padres. Shortstop C.J. Abrams, the team’s number one prospect in 2021 according to MLB.com, is another big-name youngster heading to the nation’s capital. Abrams made his major league debut on April 8 and started 28 games for the Friars this season as Fernando Tatis Jr. sat out with injury. He’s slashing .232/.285/.320 in his first taste of The Show.

Among the minor leaguers involved in the deal, outfielder Robert Hassell III is the biggest get for the Nationals. Hassell is regarded as the Padres’ best minor-league talent and was the eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft. He hit .299/.379/.467 with 10 home runs in 75 games for San Diego’s High-A affiliate in 2022.

Standing 6′7″ and still just 19 years old, outfielder James Wood is another interesting player who will now be part of Washington’s system. Per MLB.com, he is the third-best prospect San Diego had. Jarlin Susana, an 18-year-old right-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic, sounds out the prospect haul. He has thrown just 29.1 professional innings but struck out 39.6% of the hitters he’s faced, which have all been in rookie ball at the Arizona Complex League. Hassell (21st) and Wood (88th) were both ranked in MLB.com’s list of the game’s top 100 prospects, while Susana is MLB.com’s 14th-ranked Padres prospect.

Hosmer is still under contract through 2025 and is set to make $13 million for each of the next three years. The 12-year MLB veteran had to waive a no-trade clause for the transaction to go through. Since signing with the Padres before the 2018 season, Hosmer has a .737 OPS, a dip from the .781 he posted in seven years as one of the faces of the Royals’ franchise.

This will go down as the biggest trade deadline deal in league history. Soto is the first player 23 or younger to ever be traded midseason during a year where they made the All-Star team. He also becomes the first multiple-time All-Star to change teams before turning 24. The trade was put into action when Soto rejected the Nationals’ 15-year, $440 million contract extension offer, which would have been the biggest MLB contract ever. Washington’s front office balked, ultimately decided not to go any higher, and now Soto is free to chase the $500 million deal he wants. The Padres will have club control over Soto until the end of the 2024 season, when he’s eligible to become a free agent.

With Soto staying in the National League, the senior circuit’s pennant race and subsequent playoffs are shaping up to be an all-timer.

This is a developing story.

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from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/47eErRD