Mets are ‘scary possibility’ to trade for Juan Soto if available, one insider believes
With the season winding down, many baseball fans are looking toward the offseason and what 2024 can offer. And if you’re the Mets, how will next season look after a disappointing 2023?
Well, with owner Steve Cohen at the helm, the possibilities of the team turning things around is a real possibility, especially if top-tier talent like Juan Soto becomes available.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan was a guest on the Baseball is Dead podcast on Wednesday where Soto and the San Diego Padres were discussed. Of course, the Padres -- who went to the NLCS last season -- will miss the postseason this year and are one of the top disappointments of 2023.
Soto, however, will enter his final arbitration-eligible season before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2025. Will the Padres retool their farm system by offering up Soto in a trade? According to Passan, it’s a possibility.
“You have to cash in as much as you can if you’re the Padres right now,” Passan explained. “You’re stuck with Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts into their 40s for hundreds of millions of dollars. You have Fernando Tatis Jr. for $300-plus million still. It’s three unmoveable contracts right there. You have to move Juan Soto.”
Passan added that the Padres have a lot of contracts expiring, like Blake Snell and Josh Hader, that they could theoretically keep Soto and stay under a certain salary threshold. However, the insider doesn’t see San Diego being a championship team with their starting rotation so moving Soto would benefit the organization.
The conversation moved to the Red Sox, as one of the hosts is a fan of Boston’s team. During a back-and-forth about certain prospects, Passan brought up the team in Queens as a possible landing spot for Soto.
“I think the Mets are a scary possibility for Juan Soto and I think the Mets probably are in a better position to offer prospects to go out and get him because I think Mets ownership has shown the aptitude and desire to sign guys like Juan Soto long-term that the Red Sox have not,” he said.
The Mets do have plenty of prospects after trading the likes of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at this year's deadline, but they also have a hole in the outfield. Brandon Nimmo being the one everyday player they can count on, mans center while Jeff McNeil -- who has played a lot of corner outfield -- is a natural infielder and Starling Marte has been riddled with injuries. Soto could give the team the offensive firepower and stability at one of the corner outfield spots that they need.
Entering Wednesday, Soto is hitting .276 with a career-high 35 home runs and 108 RBI with an OPS of .935, which is eighth in the majors.
Whatever happens, this upcoming offseason should be an interesting one especially with Shohei Ohtani becoming a free agent. Passan name-dropped the Mets in that conversation as well on Wednesday, stating they are a team he believes will be in on Ohtani. Nothing ground-breaking there, but it's something for Mets fans to keep an eye on this winter.
