Why, in light of the Verdugo trade, Juan Soto still makes sense for the Yankees.
Dec. 5: Why the Yankees shouldn’t lose the Soto sweepstakes after trading for Verdugo (report)
For weeks, Juan Soto has been involved in trade negotiations between the Padres and Yankees. Perhaps Soto won’t fit in the Bronx after trade talks broke down due to the proposed asking price, and after the Yankees acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo. Perhaps that isn’t the case.
According to Jack Curry of YES Network, “talks have reignited and intensified between the Yankees and the Padres.” Other well-known MLB reporters seem to agree that the Yanks won’t be prevented from acquiring Soto even with the addition of Verdugo.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Yankees shouldn’t lose the Soto sweepstakes despite their acquisition of Verdugo. Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Jon Heyman of MLB Network also reported along similar lines.
This would corroborate the statements made by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman on Tuesday, according to which the team is hoping to sign two left-handed hitters. It’s possible that the Yankees will try to trade Verdugo for Soto, as Jim Bowden of The Athletic mentioned.
Dec. 5: Yanks and Padres’ Soto talks show “no movement.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reports there has been “no movement” between the Yankees and Padres regarding the Soto trade. Over the weekend, a league source told Brendan Kuty of The Athletic (subscription required) that trade talks between the two teams were “bound to heat back up” during the Winter Meetings.
According to Heyman, the Yankees don’t want to trade either pitcher, and the Padres want Michael King and Drew Thorpe (MLB Pipeline’s No. 99 prospect). This is the same standoff that existed when negotiations broke down last Friday.
December 4: It’s thought that the Padres “have offers from about five teams for Soto.”
According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, the Padres “have offers from about five teams for Soto,” including the Giants and Blue Jays, who are thought to be the two teams vying for Shohei Ohtani. Heyman conveyed that information on Monday in a piece for the New York Post.
Although San Diego’s asking price has apparently put the Yankees and Soto at a standstill in their negotiations, the Yankees are still interested in Soto.
The Yankees believe that the Padres’ offers of an 8-for-2 trade for Soto and center fielder Trent Grisham are too high. This was reported on Sunday by Brendan Kuty of The Athletic (subscription required). The pitchers Michael King, Clarke Schmidt, Jhony Brito, and Randy Vásquez of New York, as well as top prospects Drew Thorpe and Everson Pereira, and infielder Oswald Peraza who was ranked third by the Yanks going into the 2023 season—are among the players who are allegedly on the table. According to Kuty, the Yankees would be especially reluctant to give up King or Thorpe.
According to a source who spoke with Kuty, talks between the Yanks and Padres are anticipated to resume during the Winter Meetings.
Although Heyman surmised that a trade for Soto could be a fit for the Mariners after they traded left fielder Jarred Kelenic to the Braves on Sunday, the other teams involved in the Soto trade talks are unknown. The M’s traded third baseman Eugenio Suárez to the D-backs on November 22 and included Marco Gonzales and Evan White in exchange to reduce payroll.
3. Manoah was brought up in the Soto-Blue Jays trade negotiations.
The Padres hope to receive a hefty haul in return for Soto. Recently, negotiations between the Yankees and Padres came to a standstill after it was reported that San Diego requested as many as eight players from New York in exchange for Soto and outfielder Trent Grisham.
The Winter Meetings this week are probably going to bring up trade talks between those two teams, but the Yankees aren’t the only team attempting to acquire Soto. The 25-year-old superstar is reportedly being courted by the Blue Jays, and it looks like they may include starting pitcher Alek Manoah in their offer. According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, Manoah has been discussed in negotiations with San Diego.
Manoah, a first-round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, finished as a finalist for the 2022 American League Cy Young award after recording 2.24 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 196 2/3 innings. However, Manoah might benefit from a change of scenery following a 2023 season in which he struggled so much in the major leagues that the Florida Complex League optioned him in June. In the end, he pitched 87 1/3 innings for Toronto, recording a 1.74 WHIP and a 5.87 ERA.
According to Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin, and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic (subscription required), the Padres, who are rumored to be giving MLB-ready pitching priority in any trade, may receive an offer from Toronto for pitchers Bowden Francis and Ricky Tiedemann (ranked No. 31 by MLB Pipeline).
Dec. 2: Yanks and Padres are “far apart,” and the Blue Jays are emerging as Soto’s suitor (report)
Numerous reports on Friday state that the Yankees and Padres are no longer discussing a trade for outfielder Juan Soto, at least not right now. That might create an opportunity for the Blue Jays, whose negotiations with the Padres for the outfielder, 25, are supposedly “intensifying,” according to Héctor Gómez of Z101 Digital in the Dominican Republic.