NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Yankees and Padres were gaining momentum in a trade that would send Juan Soto to New York, in part because of the willingness of the Yankees to include Michael King in a package
San Diego had made acquiring King and prospect Drew Thorpe as central to completing a trade. The Yankees had initially balked at both. But King was moved into consideration at some point during discussions to reinvigorate talks.
The Padres like Thorpe, but there is not as much unanimity within their group about the righty and if he has enough fastball to thrive in the majors. King is due to be a free agent after the 2025 season and has had arm problems in the past. But the righty has been a dominant hybrid reliever and ended last season as a standout starter.
Besides cutting payroll (Soto will make in the $32 million range in 2024), San Diego must restock pitching if it moves Soto and the Yankees are deep in controllable and near-MLB-ready pitching. Among other items, San Diego is expected to lose three starters in free agency (Nick Martinez already signed with Cincinnati, NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Seth Lugo) plus closer Josh Hader.
So the Yankee package is expected to be dominated by arms. But the Padres also are likely to get a catcher – or even two – if a deal is consummated. Kyle Higashioka has been a target to be the backup to young Luis Campusano. In addition, someone such as prospect Ben Rice could be of interest.
Soto is the Yankees’ main hitting target this offseason – a lefty with power, patience and historic results to date. He hit 35 homers with a .930 OPS last season and is among the most productive offensive players through an age-24 season in MLB history.
The Yankees acquired Alex Verdugo from the Red Sox for reliever Greg Weissert and minor league pitchers Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice as they maintained their pursuit of Soto.
He’s a transformational bat,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said of Soto on Tuesday. “He’s one of the best hitters in the game. So he’s an impact, period. But currently he’s an impact for somebody else.
“I know [Padres GM] A.J. Preller’s being open-minded to a lot of different things, as all of us should be as we enter the wintertime and try to figure out how to reconfigure our clubs to be what Texas turned out to be this year. And so we’ll see. But certainly he’s a great hitter.”
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