Juan Soto Trade Rumors: Padres 'Leaning Towards' Dealing MLB Star to Avoid Contract

The San Diego Padres "are internally leaning towards" dealing Juan Soto, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

Soto has one more year of arbitration remaining before he becomes a free agent in 2025, leading many to wonder whether San Diego will attempt to recoup some of the prospect haul it sacrificed when acquiring him from the Washington Nationals ahead of the 2022 trade deadline.

In his brief stint with San Diego after the trade, the Dominican was still getting on base at a high clip, but the rest of his stats weren't up to his usual standards. He hit .236/.388/.390 slash line with six homers and 16 RBI in 182 at-bats following the deal.

After a slow start this season, Soto has gotten back on track with a slash line that's closer to what he did at his peak in Washington (.274/.409/.519). His 35 home runs are also a career high, and he's leading MLB in walks (130) for the third time in his career.

In short, Soto is in line to be paid handsomely when he hits the open market, or if he negotiates a long-term extension before then. Spotrac put his market value at 12 years and $386.1 million, which might be less than he'll ultimately get.

San Diego's aggressive spending during the offseason hasn't translated into wins on the field. The team is 81-80 and assured of missing the playoffs.

Because of that, a level of austerity could be in store.

The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee reported Monday "the plan is to go into 2024 with player commitments of around $200 million." While that's still a sizable commitment, it would be more than $53 million less than the Padres' 2023 payroll.

Trading Soto would clearly make San Diego worse in the short term, especially if the return is largely or exclusively comprised of prospects. But broadly speaking, exchanging top-end talent for roster depth might be a worthwhile strategy for the front office.