Padres among potential landing spots for Yankee slugger

Will the San Diego Padres spend some money this offseason after having a much smaller payroll in 2024?

Their decision to do so didn’t hurt them last season. In fact, they improved from 82 to 93 wins after losing some significant pieces from their 2023 roster, even trading Juan Soto to the New York Yankees.

However, Soto is now a free agent. Newsweek lists the Padres as a potential landing spot for the young slugger. It’s always possible that the Padres will try to reunite with the 26-year-old outfielder, which would bolster a lineup that already features Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth.

“The Padres could be an ideal landing spot for Soto, but there would have to be some deferred money built into it, much like the Ohtani contract.

San Diego offered Soto a contract extension worth more than $400 million while he was with the Padres. Ultimately, nothing came of it.

Now that Soto is a free agent, the Padres could offer him a massive $600 million contract that includes some extension to convince him to return to San Diego.”

Soto had a very impressive season with the Bronx Bombers. The 26-year-old superstar hit .288 with 41 home runs, 109 RBIs, seven stolen bases and a .989 OPS. He also had a 178 OPS+ and was 7.9 wins above replacement.

He will be an expensive player, which could work against the Padres, who have been fiscally conservative this season. But his return would give them a good chance to compete for the National League West title and challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers for a change.

We’ll see where it lands this winter.

More MLB: The Blue Jays are projected to be a finalist for Yankees superstar Juan Soto.