MLB Insider: Juan Soto Will Be Traded, 'Question Is Which Team' amid Padres Rumors

It seems to be only a matter of when, not if, Juan Soto is going to be traded by the San Diego Padres.

As The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal wrote on Tuesday, the "question is not whether Soto will be traded" but "which team will acquire him."

One of the worst-kept secrets in MLB is that the Padres are going to make significant changes in an attempt to lower their payroll this offseason.

Rosenthal, Evan Drellich and Dennis Lin reported on Nov. 1 the Padres had to take out a $50 million loan with permission from MLB in September to "address short-term cash flow issues" and meet player payroll obligations.

The report noted the Padres initially asked MLB to receive close to $100 million from a third-party lender, but the league only granted permission for roughly $50 million.

Per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres' plan for 2024 is to get their payroll down to around $200 million. They spent $256 million on payroll last season, third-most in MLB behind the New York Mets ($343.6 million) and New York Yankees ($278.7 million).

San Diego doesn't necessarily have to trade Soto to get its salary commitments down to $200 million. Spotrac estimates the team to have a $176.3 million payroll next season, but that doesn't factor in any potential free agents the team might sign.

MLB insider Héctor Gómez reported on Monday there's a good chance Soto stays with the Padres in 2024, but the Mets, Yankees and San Francisco Giants are potential landing spots. A lot of the teams keeping an eye on Shohei Ohtani's status could also get involved at some point.

Soto is arguably the easiest player on the roster for the Padres to move. Even with a projected $33 million salary in his final year of arbitration, he's only 25 years old and has a .284/.421/.524 slash line in 779 career games.

Despite their big spending last offseason, the Padres finished a disappointing 82-80 and missed the playoffs.