Juan Soto Trade Would Make Mets Contenders in 2024 Amid Latest MLB Rumors

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the San Diego Padres are leaning toward trying to trade Juan Soto in an attempt to slash payroll and shed his contract. MLB Insider Jeff Passan followed up on that report on the Baseball Is Dead podcast, revealing that the New York Mets are a scary possibility to land the left fielder.

The Mets are, ironically enough, coming off a disastrous season in which high-profile acquisitions Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander failed them and were gone from the team by the trade deadline.

The team's stockpiling of talent has not yet worked to their favor and brought them any closer to their first World Series title since 1986, but new President of Baseball Operations David Stearns will be looking to put his own personal touch on the team and adding Soto to a lineup that already includes Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and 2022 batting champ Jeff McNeil would certainly do that.

Soto was a bright spot for a San Diego Padres team that, like the Mets, loaded up on star power but ultimately underwhelmed.

He hit 35 dingers, had a batting average of .275, delivered 109 RBI, compiled a .410 on-base percentage and had a 5.6 WAR (wins above replacement), all numbers better than anything the Mets got out of left field in 2023.

Adding a bat like Soto's to a Mets lineup that is already full of heavy hitters would presumably make the team one of the premier offensive units in MLB, assuming they do not get off to the slow start they did in this season.

To do so, the organization will likely have to hand over valuable assets from its farm system, as laid out by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. That could mean handing over a Jett Williams, Drew Gilbert, or even Luisangel Acuña.

How willing Stearns will be to mortgage the future for the sake of bringing Soto aboard is the question. The Mets also have young players such as Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Francisco Alvarez, though the latter two at the very least would appear to be nonstarters based on potential and their significance to the team this season.

Should Mets manage to deal for Soto, and can find even a modicum of pitching to along with the explosive offensive potential, the team can absolutely make a run at the NL East title and consistently compete against the Phillies and Braves.

If not find itself in World Series contention, a place owner Steve Cohen and the rest of the Mets' front office expected to be by now.