Yankees' trade for Juan Soto is done: Superstar heading to Bronx in blockbuster deal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Juan Soto will be swinging for the short right field porch at his new home, Yankee Stadium.

In a bold move to upgrade a lackluster offense, the Yankees landed the lefty-hitting superstar slugger, 25, in a blockbuster trade Wednesday with the San Diego Padres, as confirmed by USA TODAY baseball columnist Bob Nightengale.

The Yankees and Padres later announced the trade as official.

On the final day of the Winter Meetings, the Yankees concluded their lengthy trade negotiations by sending pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez to San Diego, along with catcher Kyle Higashioka.

In return, the Yankees received one of the game's most dynamic young offensive players in Soto, as well as lefty-hitting Gold Glove center fielder Trent Grisham.

Coming off a dreadful season, missing the postseason for the first time since 2016, the Yankees are instantly improved by Soto's lineup presence.

Following a lengthy pause Wednesday over medical reviews, the issue now is how much more the Yankees will have to spend to secure Soto for the long term.

Plus, the Yankees are hoping to add free agent Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto to their rotation, with momentum toward a potential deal expected to pick up next week.

Soto's agent, Scott Boras, is almost sure to take Soto into free agency next year, potentially setting off a frenzied market among baseball’s big spenders next winter.

Speaking Wednesday at the Winter Meetings, before the trade was made, Boras would not speculate on the possibility of negotiating a contract extension with Soto's new club.

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"Teams inquiring (in trade talks) know that they have to make a substantial investment in them in the now and the future,'' Boras said of impact players like Soto.

Soto had previously rejected a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Washington Nationals, who traded him to San Diego at the 2022 MLB trade deadline.

The Yankees' outfield now appears to have lefty-hitting Alex Verdugo (acquired Tuesday from the Red Sox) in left field, Aaron Judge in center and Soto in right.

An impact move at a critical moment

There was no shortage of interest in Soto, with the Blue Jays, Mets, Cubs, Giants and Red Sox among the heavyweights linked to trade discussions.

Soto already has something nearly every Yankee lacks and has pined for – a World Series ring.

And so begins a sort of one-year trial to see if Soto is a fit for New York, and whether the Yankees will commit hundreds of millions more dollars to make him a cornerstone player.

“Those are the decisions you have to make,’’ said Yankees GM Brian Cashman, speaking generally Tuesday about the risk of a potential one-year rental in a big trade.

“There’s always the pressure to try to do really good, impactful things (and we’re) always trying to be a playoff contender that can challenge for a World Series.’’

Juan Soto profile

A member of the 2019 world champion Nationals, Soto is a career .284 hitter with a sensational .421 on-base percentage and .946 OPS over his six big-league seasons.

Soto has led the league in walks three times, including last year, when he played in all 162 games for the disappointing Padres, batting .275 with 35 homers and 109 RBI.

He’s had four top-10 finishes in the NL MVP balloting, including as a runner-up to Bryce Harper in 2021.

Soto does not get high marks for his outfield defense, but he’s also captured four straight Silver Slugger awards, emblematic of the best offensive players at their position.

Having just turned 25 in October, Soto is an outlier as he enters his free agent walk year.

“Soto right now would be like Judge in his rookie year,’’ Boras said. “And when you think about what Soto has done prior to this time, it tells you what a remarkable talent he is by his age.’’

Breaking from his usual protocol on such matters, Yankees GM Brian Cashman referred to Soto as “a transformational bat, one of the best hitters in the game.’’

Cashman acknowledged discussions with A.J. Preller, adding that the Padres GM was “being open-minded to a lot of different things, as all of us should be as we enter the wintertime and try to figure to how to reconfigure our clubs to be what (the world champion) Texas (Rangers) turned out to be.’’

Yankees heading to San Diego

King, 28, has two more years of team control until he’s eligible for free agency after the 2025 season.

Acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins in November 2017, King developed into a multi-inning relief weapon until his transition back to a starter late last season.

King was expected to be part of a 2024 Yankees rotation fronted by reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, along with Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt.

Of course, the Yankees are hoping to add Yamamoto, who plans to meet with interested clubs next week and might command a contract around $250 million, not including the posting fee.

Thorpe, 23, was named the minor league Pitching Prospect of the Year, posting a 14-2 record and 2.52 ERA in 23 combined starts at Class A Hudson Valley and Class AA Somerset, with 182 strikeouts in 139.1 innings.

As rookies in 2023, Vasquez and Brito, both 25, made contributions to the Yankees’ injury-plagued staff as both starters and relievers.

Vasquez went 2-2 with a 2.87 ERA in 11 games (five starts), while Brito went 9-7 with a 4.28 ERA in 25 games (13 starts).

Until Wednesday, Higashioka, 33, was the longest currently tenured Yankee. Drafted in 2008, didn’t reach the Majors until 2017. Over the last three seasons, he’s averaged 81 games per year with 10 homers and 30 RBI.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Juan Soto trade to Yankees done, Padres send slugger to Bronx