It’s straightforward to ascertain Juan Soto slugging dwelling runs over the quick porch in proper area at Yankee Stadium — however the Padres famous person appears prone to keep in San Diego for the 2024 season.
That’s based on Scott Boras, the superagent who represents Soto and a number of different star gamers coming into free company this winter. Boras on Wednesday spoke in the course of the annual basic supervisor conferences in Arizona, and he stated the Padres are certainly planning to maintain Soto as he enters his ultimate marketing campaign earlier than free company in 2025.
Boras: Padres aren’t trying to commerce Soto
Boras advised reporters that he has spoken with Padres management, which has laid out for him a plan that features Soto anchoring the lineup once more subsequent yr. San Diego endured a disappointing 2023 season and couldn’t return to the postseason after making an NL Championship Sequence look in 2022 — however the franchise appears unlikely to tear down an expensively-assembled roster.
“They’re on the lookout for extra left-handed bats quite than much less,” Boras stated of the Padres’ strategy.
For the Padres, the price to amass Soto from the Washington Nationals was fairly steep. San Diego traded away six gamers — together with high pitching prospect MacKenzie Gore — to get the 25-year-old outfielder in August 2022. He’ll probably safe a record-breaking one-year deal in arbitration earlier than subsequent season begins and will but be traded once more if the Padres have one other down yr in 2024.
Soto: An elite hitter with time on his aspect
The Padres have been unafraid to spend cash to maintain their stars in recent times, and so they’ll make no exception for Soto — though competitors will probably be fierce for the three-time All-Star.
That is as a result of Soto swatted a career-high 35 dwelling runs in 2023 and already has 160 dingers since debuting in 2018. Soto is a three-time Silver Slugger winner and has led MLB in walks throughout every of the previous three seasons.
Soto’s long-term future will proceed to be a supply of hypothesis and intrigue — however within the short-term, he stays a San Diego Padre, in a troublesome break for New York Yankees followers particularly.
