Evaluating the Juan Soto trade: How are the players Yankees sent to Padres doing now?
SAN DIEGO – Michael King is a spectator for this weekend’s Yankees-Padres series, and he’s “pretty disappointed’’ about it.
“I think it would have been fun’’ to pitch against his old team, King said in the spacious home clubhouse at Petco Park. “They’re so good, maybe it wouldn’t have gone so well, but it would’ve been a great challenge.
“It would’ve been fun to see a lot of my friends in the (batter’s) box. It’ll be just as fun, I guess, to root against them in the dugout.’’
King and pitching prospect Drew Thorpe were the key figures going West in the seven-player trade for Juan Soto, with the Yankees also getting outfielder Trent Grisham and San Diego also receiving pitchers Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez and catcher Kyle Higashioka.
“Actually, I think the trade ends up taking a few days longer than maybe it could have, just because we were pretty reluctant to give up Michael King,’’ said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
“He was hard to let go of, but we also understood it was going to hurt a little bit to get a guy like Juan Soto.’’
Catching up with the Yankees this weekend, King said he misses being around his friends - and he also misses some of his favorite Italian restaurants in New York.
While it’s “tough to match the energy’’ of the city, and the trade was “bittersweet in the moment,’’ King said “now it’s just a great opportunity’’ pitching in San Diego.
“Definitely a different lifestyle but loving it so far.’’
Here’s a look at how the players traded by the Yankees have fared so far:
Michael King
Firmly in San Diego’s rotation, the right-hander is 4-4 with a 4.28 ERA in 11 games (10 starts).
King, who turned 29 on Saturday, has yielded the most home runs (12) and walks (28) of any NL pitcher this year, with 67 strikeouts in 61 innings.
Last year, as a valuable multi-inning reliever and later a starter with the Yanks (9 games), King only walked 32 batters in 104.2 total innings, with 127 strikeouts and a 2.75 ERA.
But he’s pitched better lately, with a 3.24 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in four May starts.
Jhony Brito
After a rough start in San Diego’s bullpen, Brito had a 2.14 ERA over his last 12 appearances until yielding a run during a two-inning stint in Friday's 8-0 Yankees win at Petco Park.
Brito gave up a walk to Anthony Volpe and a double to Soto before tossing a wild pitch. Overall, the 26-year-old right-hander is 1-2 with a 4.00 ERA in 17 games, all in relief.
In his rookie season last year with the Yankees, Brito split time as a starter and reliever, with a 9-7 record and 4.28 ERA in 25 total games.
Kyle Higashioka
The longest currently tenured Yankee before the Soto trade, Higashioka - who grew up in Southern California - is now the backup catcher to Luis Campusano.
"Toward the end of last season, I could sort of see the writing on the wall a little bit,'' Higashioka said of his Yankees chapter coming to an end. But the transition to San Diego has been "more comfortable...just because there's so many guys I was already familiar with.''
King added that his transition to San Diego was made easier by arriving with so many ex-Yankees present, including Wandy Peralta and Tyler Wade - part of group that came to be known as "Yankees West'' in spring training.
On the field, it’s been a rough start for Higashioka, 34, batting .140 in just 15 games, with one homer and three RBI in 43 at-bats.
In addition to Soto, the Yankees received two-time Gold Glove Award winning outfielder Trent Grisham, but the lefty hitter has played in just 19 games, batting .056 (2-for-36).
Randy Vasquez
After slotting into San Diego’s rotation for three games, the right-hander was optioned back to Triple-A this week as Joe Musgrove (elbow) returned from the IL.
Over those three starts, Vasquez went 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA, with losses to the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves.
Vasquez has made five total appearances for the Padres this year, all starts, and he’s 0-3 with a 5.82 ERA.
Drew Thorpe
Three months after his inclusion in the Soto trade, Thorpe was shipped to the Chicago White Sox, in a deal that sent Dylan Cease to San Diego.
Thorpe, 23, has excelled in eight starts for Chicago’s Class AA Birmingham affiliate, with a 6-1 record, 1.50 ERA and 0.929 WHIP.
A second-round draft pick by the Yankees in 2022, Thorpe was named Minor League Pitching Prospect of the Year in 2023, going a combined 14-2 with a 2.52 ERA at Class A Hudson Valley and Class AA Somerset.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Juan Soto trade: How are the players Yankees sent to Padres doing now?
