If Soto is traded, who might be positioned to land him?

Passan expects Soto to be traded, thinks Yanks have ‘really good chance’ to land him
Soto’s potential availability on the trade market is one of the most intriguing threads of the offseason. We can count ESPN’s Jeff Passan among those who expect the 25-year-old outfielder to be dealt, pointing to the Padres’ myriad of roster needs and lack of payroll space as the driving factors. Not only that, but Passan also thinks the Yankees are among his most likely landing spots.

“The interesting part of this is when we look at their payroll,” Passan said Thursday in an appearance on The Michael Kay Show. “They’re $191 million estimated right now with arbitration salaries and they’ve lost almost 700 innings of pitching in free agency. Filling 700 innings is going to take a large chunk of change. And with Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish all with full no-trade clauses, with Jake Cronenworth’s contract relatively un-movable and without a whole lot on the books otherwise that they can get rid of, logically what it says to you is that Juan Soto has to go.

“If you want a payroll at $200 million, as the Padres would like to do for next season, Juan Soto simply can’t be a part of it. And that is why Yankees fans should be excited, because I think they’ve got a really good chance of going out and getting him.”

This isn’t the first time the Yankees have been linked to Soto this offseason. Passan wrote about the Soto situation on Tuesday and mentioned the Yankees, Cubs and Mariners as potential matches for a Soto trade because they can offer San Diego young, MLB-ready starting pitching, something that would be the club’s “obvious focus” in a Soto deal. MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi also named those three teams as the likely frontrunners for Soto if the Padres make him available.

The Yanks need to improve an offense that ranked 25th in the Majors in runs scored last season and is known to be in the market for one if not two left-handed-hitting outfielders. Soto would fit the bill. However, Morosi noted Monday that free-agent center fielder Cody Bellinger is more of a priority because Soto can become a free agent after 2024.

Soto might be a backup plan for the Cubs in case they lose Bellinger. Soto doesn’t play center, but he’d replace Bellinger’s left-handed bat in Chicago’s lineup. Meanwhile, the Mariners also have to think about finding a replacement for a free-agent outfielder. In Seattle’s case, it’s right fielder Teoscar Hernández.

Moving on from Soto would be tough after the substantial package the Padres gave up to acquire him in 2022, but a trade does at least appear to be a possibility. Per Passan’s report, the Padres “have internally discussed their options if they do move Soto.”