Juan Soto trade rumors: Ranking the other 29 MLB teams on their chances of landing Nationals star

News broke Saturday that Nationals shortstop Juan Soto will be provided in trade negotiations after rejecting Washington’s recent offer – a 15-year contract worth $440 million. The Nationals are expected to ask for a ton in return for Soto, and rightly so; he is, after all, a 23-year-old already on his way to the Hall of Fame. Soto has a career .293/.427/.540 (160 OPS+) slash line as well as 117 home runs and 21 Wins Above Replacement in more than 2,000 major league plate appearances.

He will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2024 season, meaning that if a team acquires him this deadline they will have him for the final three games.

Yes, the chances of the Nationals agreeing to trade Soto before Aug. 2 the last day is everyone’s opinion. It may seem impossible that such a blockbuster could come together so quickly, but then this is baseball and strange things have happened.

So, which teams are in the best position to land Soto? Below, CBS Sports ranks the 29 non-Nationals teams based on their chances of getting a contract.

Step 1: No pay, no play

29. Running games

28. Marlins

27. Months

26. Pirates

25. Guardians

24. Brewers

We are dropping these six teams because of the financial aspect. Although he did not try to develop Soto, he had to pay for his controversial rewards; It’s not the style of these teams. You could argue that the Rays, Guardians or Brewers in contention should look to acquire Soto in the pursuit, as the flags are constantly flying and they could have plenty of time to trade him and return the prospect later. We like the idea, but that kind of improvement will never happen again, and we doubt it will happen again with a deal of this size.

Part 2: Builders R’ Us

23. Royal

22. Red

21. Diamondbacks

20. Orioles

19. Stones

18. Tigers

While we agree that some of these six teams appear to be closer to making the playoffs than others, we don’t think any of them would be too big of a risk to meet the Nationals’ asking price. It would be better if they did.

Step 3: Something is missing

17. Children

16. Supervisors

15. White Sox

14. Angels

13. Twins

12. Parents

As exciting (or frustrating) as it would be to see Soto lined up with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, or Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., we’re putting a line across the board because we think they’re lacking in financial or prospect space. Of all the teams so far, this is the first time we feel like a team from here can really play – we’re hot, in other words.

Step 4: Rivals, not friends

11. Brave

10. Phillies

9. Mets

The question that will be asked of the Nationals is whether they are willing to trade Soto within the scope. If so, the teams should be moved into the upper division, with the Mets in particular standing as one of the most likely destinations for him; if not — and let’s face it, teams don’t usually want to trade their biggest star for an opponent they’ll see at home and on the road every season — then this represents the team’s ceiling. Regardless of the answer, the Mets (and, in particular, Steve Cohen’s black bag) could be useful to Soto and his representation between now and whenever he puts pen to paper on a new contract.

Part 5: Competitors in large markets, but…

8. Stars

7. Blue Jays

6. Red Sox

Soto would make sense for any of the three teams — all competitive and entrenched in major media markets — but we wonder if their front offices would be willing to commit to the deals they want. The Astros and Red Sox are both managed by former Rays general managers who have traded or parted ways with Mookie Betts, George Springer, and Carlos Correa in recent seasons rather than deal in additions. (You could argue that Soto is at a different level, but the players aren’t exactly cut.) The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are led by a Guardians executive who has shown a willingness recently to offer big contracts, but which they may have. looking to add to their roster of young stars, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. Will they have enough money to do all this, or will the team choose Soto over them? We’re open to the possibility, but we don’t know.

Part 6: top five

5. Sailors

The Mariners sound good on paper. They have a good farming system. He has few long-term commitments. They have a general manager who has every reason to push the iron to end the longest drought in the game. Will Jerry Dipoto fare better than several other prospects, led by the combination of shortstop Noelvi Marte and pitchers George Kirby and Matt Brash? We don’t know, but they have a responsibility to think about it.

4. Giants

The Giants have drafted the likes of dark horses in the past for Giancarlo Stanton and Bryce Harper. General manager Farhan Zaidi also knows all about chasing stars from his time as a member of the Dodgers’ front office. The Giants don’t have a proven track record for a long time, and Soto could be the spiritual successor to Buster Posey as the face of the franchise. The upside is that Zaidi doesn’t have the weaponry that some of his rivals do, meaning he’ll have to back a bad deal, like Patrick Corbin, to make ends meet.

3. Yankee

We are legally obligated to include the Yankees near the top of this list because of their financial strength and their history of taking advantage of these types of events. Brian Cashman has remained the same prospect as Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza in recent years, giving him legitimate youth to play with. The fun wrinkle with the Yankees is that they haven’t been able to solve the Aaron Judge problem. The only way Yankees fans will be happy if they let Judge walk after this season is if they have Soto in hand or on the way — and hey, there are a few legitimate baseball reasons to favor a long-term commitment. him on the Judge, including age, history, and history of injuries.

2. Dodgers

As with the Yankees, the Dodgers are always near the top of these lists. Andrew Friedman has shown in the past that he is ready to compete with top players, and Soto agrees. Depending on how the Nationals evaluate some of the Dodgers’ top young players – Bobby Miller, Diego Cartaya, Andy Pages, and others – Los Angeles may have to follow the Giants’ section on offense. agreement in addition to Soto. They did the same thing when they acquired Mookie Betts from Boston, so it won’t be a problem for Friedman and company.

1. Cardinals

This is sure not to age well, but yes, we think the Cardinals have the clearest path of any team to land Soto. They’ve traded for Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in recent seasons, and traded for Francisco Lindor, among others, showing interest and willingness to add a blockbuster hit. The Cardinals also have the ability to offer a package that includes a combination of Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Dylan Carlson, and Tyler O’Neill, among others. Plus, they’ll have Goldschmidt’s contract expiring after the 2024 season… It’s possible that Soto would prefer to play on the coast, but for shame, Mike Rizzo should make his first phone call about Soto to the Cardinals.