Less than a year and a half after giving up a big haul of prospects to acquire Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals, the San Diego Padres changed direction and traded him to the New York Yankees. The Padres traded Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees in exchange for Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, and Kyle Higashioka.
Scott Boras, Soto’s agent, stated that the Padres would not have transferred Soto to the Yankees if former Padres owner Peter Seidler had not died.
“If Peter Seidler were still living,” Boras told USA TODAY Sports. “None of this would be happening. Juan would’ve been with the Padres. He would not have been traded to the Yankees.
“He’d be a Padre today.”
Seidler and Boras were considering a contract extension for Soto when Seidler became unwell, halting the talks. Seidler died on November 2023.
“Peter and I were knee-deep in Juan Soto’s (contract) discussions,” Boras told Bob Nightengale. “Very advanced. His illness effectively halted the process since we knew the organization would be different. He wanted to press it through despite his illness.”
The Padres would move Soto less than a month after Seidler’s death.
“Peter was not trading Juan Soto,” Boras explained. “No way.” He kept repeating, “I traded for a franchise.” I am not giving him up. He couldn’t believe they (the Nationals) traded Juan Soto. “He loved Juan.”
The Padres did not make the playoffs in Soto’s only full season in San Diego, with reports indicating that the two were not a good fit. The Padres did reach the playoffs with Soto in 2022, the year he was moved to the franchise.
After Soto’s departure, the Padres returned to the playoffs in 2024, reaching the National League Division Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Soto, meanwhile, had a career year with the Yankees. In 2024, Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs and made his fourth consecutive All-Star Game, helping the Yankees win their first World Series since 2009.
Soto has been the Yankees’ greatest player so far in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with three hits, three runs, one home run, and one RBI after two games.
Perhaps the move was best for both Soto and the Padres, but Boras feels Soto might have led the Padres to the World Series this season if they had stayed.
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