July 20, 2022
In the last article, I talked about a Soto trade to the Yankees (see the first article of this series on the blog for more details). Today, I will be exploring a Soto trade to the Yankees’ New York rivals, the Mets. The Mets system is not as deep as the Yankees pipeline but still has quality talent to offer. The Mets could really use Soto to stave off the Braves for the Division title. He would fit well in a Mets lineup that boasts righties Pete Alonso and Starling Marte, Switch-hitter Francisco Lindor, and lefties Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo. Soto would give the Mets a well-rounded lineup along with their fantastic starting rotation. Grabbing Soto would definitely help the Mets in the postseason as well, having to beat the Dodgers and Braves, both of whom have deep lineups and rotations.
Mets receive Juan Soto
Nationals receive Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos, Carlos Cortes, Jose Butto, and Dom Smith.
Normally I would think Alvarez would be untouchable, but I think he’s the only way a deal like this gets done for the Mets. Also, they drafted a catcher with one of their first-round picks in this years’ draft, which makes me think they may be trying to gear up for a Soto trade. Alvarez is obviously the big piece in this trade. He is ranked #2 on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list. He has 18 homers in AA, and just got moved up to AAA. He is almost major league ready at this point, so the Nationals could utilize him immediately. The Nats do have Keiburt Ruiz as their catcher, but I don’t see him affecting this deal very much, especially with the DH now in place in the NL. Baty is also an elite prospect with a terrific bat. He is ranked #20 on MLB.com’s list and could really be called up to AAA at any moment. He is raking in AA this year, with a .288 average and 13 homers. Baty would fit in with the Nationals, who currently have Maikel Franco at third base. Mauricio would be suitable for the Nationals right now and for the future, even if he is very young. The Nationals could really use a shortstop, and Mauricio would give them plenty of talent to develop. He already has 16 homers in AA so I could see him being in the majors immediately after being traded to the Nats. Mark Vientos isn’t as touted as the first three but brings a great corner infield and outfield bat to the Nationals and is also Major league ready. Cortes will probably be more of a utility guy in the Majors, but I can see the Nats giving him some At Bats if they trade for him. Jose Butto is probably the Mets most Major league ready pitching prospect, so if the Nats want a pitching prospect in this deal I’d guess it will be him. Dominic Smith is still relatively young and could be added as a throw-in recreation project. Like I mentioned with Andujar is the previous article, Smith could find his swing again and would bring in prospects at the next deadline. In my opinion that would be a smart thing to do for the Nationals.
Overall, I think this would be a good deal for both sides. I can see Soto staying in New York, and the Nationals will get a ton of young talent in return. Soto is a good fit for the Mets’ lineup so I could see this trade happening. In the next article I will be exploring what the Dodgers could offer for Juan Soto.