MLB Rumors: Juan Soto Contract Extension Being 'Aggressively' Pursued by Padres

The San Diego Padres have been one of the disappointments of the 2023 season, but one silver lining for the team's fans would be if the organization could lock up superstar Juan Soto to a long-term extension.

They are reportedly trying to do just that. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Padres "are aggressively trying to sign Soto to a contract extension, just as they have all season, before having to make a decision this winter whether to keep him or risk losing him as a free agent after 2024."

In Aug. 2022, the Padres traded Luke Voit, MacKenzie Gore, C.J. Abrams, Robert Hassell, James Wood and Jarlin Susana for Soto and Josh Bell, adding to a star-studded lineup that already included Manny Machado.

That group ended the season 89-73 and reached the NLCS, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.

But expectations were through the roof heading into 2023.

Young superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. was returning after a motorcycle accident that left him with a broken wrist, costing him the first half of the 2022 season, before an 80-game suspension for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy cost him the rest. The team also signed shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million deal.

Suddenly, a core of Soto, Tatis, Machado, Bogaerts, Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Josh Hader looked like the most star-studded roster in baseball.

It just hasn't worked.

The Padres are just 56-62, 15.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and 5.5 games back of the final NL Wild Card berth.

In Soto's defense, he's had an excellent season. The three-time All-Star is hitting .271 with 24 homers, 75 RBI, 67 runs and an impressive .925 OPS in 117 games. He's more than handled his end of the bargain.

The question is going to be whether the team's struggles this season entice him to stick around for the long haul. It's the $300+ question for the Padres, who assuredly would love to keep the 24-year-old in Petco Park for the duration of his career but only have him under contract for one more season (Soto will be arbitration eligible for the final time this winter).

Losing him in free agency without receiving anything in return—after giving up so much to acquire him—would be a devastating blow. Dangling him to teams with a full year left on his deal, meanwhile, is more attractive than trying to deal a short-term rental at next season's trade deadline.

So if the two sides can't work out a long-term extension, it wouldn't be the biggest shock if Soto was traded this offseason. But it's a scenario the Padres clearly hope to avoid.