Henry Roldán
Less than 10 hours before the 2022 MLB trade deadline, the market rumbled with the mega trade of Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres.
In one of the most important moves in Major League Baseball history, ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report that the Dominican outfielder moved, along with first baseman Josh Bell, from the Washington Nationals to the California organization.
After several days of rumors that included teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres ended up securing the services of the talented 23-year-old by offering the best package for the Nationals.
The team from the capital of the United States brings in several names, such as: left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore and shortstop C.J. Abrams, who were once top prospects for the Padres and made their major league debuts this year, as well as first baseman Luke Voit, who was included in the package at the last minute.
In addition, Washington welcomes a large core of prospects such as outfielders Robert Hassell III and James Wood and right-handed starter Jarlin Susana.
The move comes after Soto turned down a pair of contract extension offers from the Nationals, including a last one, at the beginning of July, for 13 campaigns and USD 450 million. From then on, the relationship broke down, leading to the departure of the young player, who will not be a free agent until 2025.
Likewise, with the arrival of Soto and Bell in San Diego, the ninth is positioned as one of the favorites to fight for the World Series, with the expectation that in the next few weeks Fernando Tatis Jr. can make his debut this season.
Juan Soto Trade: Numbers for Outfielder and First Baseman Josh Bell
At 23 years of age, Juan Soto is considered one of the best hitters in baseball because of his ability to read pitches and take the best possible pitches to connect.
In addition to being batting champion in 2010 with a .351 average, he has twice led the majors in OBP and is the leader in innings batted in 2022 with 91, a category he also commanded last year with 145. Soto also has power, and in each of his four seasons in the majors (not including the short 2020 season) has hit at least 20 homers.
As for Bell, the starter is having a good season with the lumber as he is being much more selective at the plate. While he has maintained his home run quota with 14 and 57 tows, for the first time he is averaging over .300 (.301) and his OBP is .384, the highest of his career.
The Numbers of Prospects Washington Will Receive
Let’s start with the names of those who have yet to make their major league debuts, such as Robert Hassell III, considered to be the organization’s No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
While there is some question about his defense in center field, Hassell is considered a plus left-handed hitter, with the ability to connect the ball to the middle infield and the opposite side while hoping he can gain strength as the years go by. He currently plays in Class A+ and has 10 home runs, 55 towing, a .299 average and a .379 OBP.
Next on the list is Robert Wood, ranked as the organization’s third-best prospect who could easily compete with Hassell. At 19 years of age, the projections speak of a power hitter capable of hitting 30 home runs per season and stealing more than 20 pads. In Class A, he showed this by hitting 10 homers and stealing 15 bases in 50 games.
Closing out the list is Jarlin Susana, a Dominican pitcher considered the number one pitcher in the international class in 2021-2022. The right-hander has a straight line that can reach 100 mph at times, and complements it with a slider that hovers around 90 MPH. His biggest problem is the control of his pitching, although in his time with the Padres’ Rookie team, he only conceded 11 passports and struck out 44 opponents in 29.1 innings of work.
We continue with C.J. Abrams, a 21-year-old shortstop who before making his big team debut this year was considered the ninth-best prospect in baseball by MLB. So far he has not been able to perform as expected since his main weapon, speed on the basepaths, has been diminished by a batting average of just .232 and OBP of .285. Defensively, however, he has been spectacular.
Closing out the list of promising youngsters is left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore. Despite being currently injured, Gore was the Padres’ fourth-ranked prospect in 2021 and made his major league debut this season at age 22. Its straight line can reach between 92-96 MPH and is accompanied by a slider that throws its rivals off balance. The sinister also has a curve and change up that he throws with a lot of control and projects him to be very effective in the league.
Eric Hosmer Almost Knocks Down the Entire Trade
For a few minutes the mega trade for Juan Soto was on hold, as Eric Hosmer, the Padres’ first baseman who was supposed to go to the Nationals, appealed his no-trade clause to veto his move to Washington, a team that was on the list of 10 organizations to which he could decide not to go.
However, both the Padres and the Nationals were determined to make the trade, and, although Hosmer was not included in the trade, Soto and Bell were already on their way to San Diego.
It also became known hours later that Hosmer’s place in the trade was taken by first baseman Luke Voit, who had joined the Padres in March from the New York Yankees and who, in 82 games this season, had 13 home runs and 48 towing runs for the Clergymen.
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