Nobody should be surprised that the San Diego Padres landed slugging outfielder Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Nationals.
They were desperate to win right now. Soto was the biggest prize in baseball’s marketplace this summer, so the Padres were always going to win the bidding.
The Padres have made one trip to postseason play since 2006 – and that came with the expanded playoff bracket after the shortened 2020 pandemic season.
The franchise’s ownership, led by Peter Seidler, is committed to spending to baseball’s luxury tax threshold. Seidler wants to move his team out from the shadow of the big-budget Los Angeles Dodgers.
Padres general manager A.J. Preller is committed to building a champion-caliber roster at any cost of prospects. He keeps shoving trade chips to the middle of the table.
Seider and Preller are unconcerned about what may happen four or five years down the road. The Padres have finished 20 or more games behind in the National League West eight times since 2007, so it’s not like their fan base will be shocked if the team collapses back into the cellar at some point.
Expectations in San Diego have not been sky high over the years.
Of course the Padres were going to outbid the Cardinals, whose business model calls for perennial contention that generates steady revenue. That makes president of baseball operations John Mozeliak more measured with his trade proposals.
Also, Soto would have been a luxury item for the Cardinals. They have plenty of outfielders now and more on the way. They need pitching, pitching and more pitching.
Of course the Padres were going to outbid the Dodgers, too, because their division nemesis is already loaded with a big payroll.
Also, Dodgers baseball czar Andrew Friedman’s time with the Tampa Bay Rays taught him the value of prospect asset management. Friedman, like Mozeliak, is not going to spend prospects willy nilly.
Preller feels no such reluctance. So here is what the Padres reportedly spent to get Soto:
— Left-handed starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore, who is 4-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 16 games this season at the age of 23. He currently is sidelined with a sore elbow but the issue is not considered serious. His Cardinals comparable is either Matthew Liberatore, who has yet to settle into the big leagues, or Zack Thompson, who is enjoying some success in relief. Gore is further ahead.
— Infielder C.J. Abrams, a speedster who graduated to the big leagues at 21. His Cardinals comparable is Masyn Winn, who is tearing up the Class AA level as a 20-year-old. Abrams is further ahead.
— Outfielder Robert Hassell III, the eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft. At 20 he hit well at the advanced Class A level this season, but he doesn’t quite measure up to Cardinals prospect Jordan Walker – who is dominating at that Class AA level at the age of 20. Both players are still trying to realize their power potential.
— Outfielder James Wood, a 6-foot-7 masher who is hammering the ball at the Class A level at the age of 19 while also making consistent contact. He is further along than his 19-year-old Cardinals comparable, 6-foot-4, 220-pound Joshua Baez.
— Pitcher Jarlin Susana, an imposing (6-foot-6, 235 pounds) 18-year-old signed off the international market. He has 44 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings at the complex level this season. He is further along than Cardinals comparable Alec Willis, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound 19-year-old on the comeback from arm issues at the complex level.
As a sweetener, the Nationals were willing to send the Padres first baseman Josh Bell and take back first baseman Eric Hosmer and the $39 million left on his contract after this season.
But Hosmer has the Nationals on his no-trade list and he nixed that part of the deal, forcing the Padres to send him to the Boston Red Sox instead. The Padres opted to send Our Town's Luke Voit to the Nationals to wrap up the trade.
These Cardinals-Padres comparisons aren’t exact and the Cardinals are nowhere near the luxury tax threshold, so they have didn’t have to request a salary dump as part of their offer.
As for what's next for the Cardinals after missing out on Soto, stay tuned ...
