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Tim Britton, Grant Brisby and Stephen J. by Nesbitt
Business
Yankees get: Juan Soto, OF, Trent Grisham, OF
Padres get: Michael King, RHP; Drew Thorpe, RHP; Johnny Brito, RHP; Randy Vasquez, RHP; and Kyle Higashioka, C
Tim Britton: Every team will be better if Juan Soto is added. But perhaps no team needed Soto more than the Yankees.
This isn’t just for narrative reasons – although including one of the game’s finest batsmen coping with their worst season in three decades helps in that regard. But in 2023, only two teams saw worse production from their left-handed hitters than the Yankees. It probably follows that only one team assigned fewer plate appearances to lefties than New York. What’s bad for any team is especially dire for a team that plays in a ballpark designed to cater to southpaw sluggers.
The Yankees rank 26th in the majors in OPS from their outfield, and that’s despite the presence of Aaron Judge. Remove him from the calculations, and New York outfielders slashed .214/.276/.360 for a .636 OPS. So yes, even if it costs you a good pitching prospect and a promising big league team, you’ll do whatever it takes to add Soto’s career .946 OPS to that group. You add his uncanny vision, the power that will get the job done in the Bronx and the versatility he adds to a lineup that had stagnated over the past several years. This is Juan Soto.
For San Diego, part of the trade for Soto was knowing that if things go bad, they can always try to recoup some of the potential cost by moving him beyond free agency. They got an NLCS appearance from the trade and some legitimate talent back, but, well, things have gotten worse financially. It is difficult to consider Sotto trading as a positive.
Yankees Grade: A
Padres Grade: C
Grant Brisby: Juan Soto is on his way to the Hall of Fame. Check it out, he’s on his way to becoming an inner-circle Hall of Famer with the greatest of all time. If you want to emphasize that, remember that the guy just turned 25. Twenty-five years in total. There are four players on MLB’s top 100 prospects list who are 25 or older.
However, this is not just a curiosity. If you’re looking at a guy who is approaching free agency at the peak of a very special career, wouldn’t you want 10 months when you’re the only team in baseball that can talk to him about an extension? This is not just sowing the seeds, but also watering them and placing them under a halogen lamp. People will groan because the Yankees are giving up a lot of talent for a one-year rental, especially when it comes to major-league production in 2024, but it’s not just that. This is a trial run. See how welcoming Yankees fans are? See how much the little verandah on the right helps you? Wouldn’t you want to live here for the next 14 years?
My only complaint about the Yankees going in favor of Soto is that it forces Aaron Judge to move to center field, which isn’t ideal for a big 30 after a toe injury, but it It’s actually more Alex Verdugo’s fault. Juan Soto is on the Yankees. This is something to celebrate.
Juan Soto is not on the Padres. I understand why, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t frustrating. They needed arms to make up for what they were losing in free agency, and they needed to cut the payroll because it showed they were going to spend, and that wasn’t sustainable.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck. They’re losing a guy who played in 162 games for them last year and had a .410 on-base percentage, .930 OPS, and 158 OPS+. They need to replace the pitcher, yes, but how do you replace him? They still had many great players, but they were already below league average in terms of runs scored per game. It will be nearly impossible to make up for the on-base wizardry’s 162-game losing streak.
Michael King will help the Padres pitching staff immediately. (Eric Kanha/USA TODAY)
To put it bluntly, the talent is coming back. Michael King will help immediately. Drew Thorpe looks like a fast bowler. Randy Vasquez had a shiny ERA and a dusty FIP in the majors, and he struggled with his control in the minors, but that should help him at some point in the near future.
However, a lot of hopes are going the other way, so it’s a tough deal to like from the Padres’ perspective.
Yankees: A+
Padres: C+
Stephen J. Nesbitt: The last left-handed (or switch) hitters with a .400 OBP over a full season for the Yankees are Jorge Posada, Jason Giambi, and Bobby Abreu. It’s been 16 years since any of them last did that.
And the last Yankees lefties with a 140 OPS+ over a full season are Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira. It’s been a decade since any of them last did that.
Soto has never had a sub-.400 OBP or 140 OPS+ season. Not in the majors. Not in minors. Probably not even as a cute kid in Santo Domingo! In today’s game, Soto is in a league of his own as a hitter. Plus eye, plus contact, plus strength. He has a World Series ring, a Home Run Derby trophy, a batting title, yet he looks most proud when he’s spitting on a ball inches away from the plate. His expertise matches beautifully with the Yanks’ biggest need. Soto will spend until 2024 throwing baseballs around Yankee Stadium and parking them on small verandas, teaming up with Judge to create a supreme one-two punch of power and patience.
Grisham doesn’t move the needle offensively, but he gives the Yankees a fourth outfielder who can play center as they await the return of Jason Dominguez.
Of course, the next question is whether they will be able to get together in the same season. If so, the Yankees better have it figured out. Their first order of business is to strengthen the rest of the roster – starting with the rotation that lost a bunch of depth in this trade – and then turn their attention to whether they can keep Soto in the Bronx long-term.
For the Padres, a comeback is a comeback. That’s fine, if you accept the position that the Padres need to move Soto and his projected $33 million salary as soon as possible. But it’s not bothering you. Michael King looks really good at times, and has looked even better recently, but he’s 28, two years from free agency, and has yet to take over as a full starter in the majors . Thorpe, a 2022 second-rounder, is a promising prospect with significant progression as a starter. He is coming off an excellent season – a 2.52 ERA between High A and Double A – and was named MLB Pipeline’s Pitching Prospect of the Year. Still, the Padres aren’t bringing in anyone worth giving up here. The only certain thing here is that the person is going the other way.
Prior to the trade, the Padres’ projected 2024 rotation featured Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and then a massive decline. Between King, Thorpe, Brito and Vazquez they will fix the back of their rotation for next season and solidify things for the future. He can do great work. But generally you wouldn’t send out a Soto-sized bat and look like a winner.
Yankees: A
Padres: B-
(Top photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
