July 18, 2022
Reportedly, Juan Soto is now on the trade market after turning down a 15-year, $440 million extension from the Nationals. What would a deal look like for the 23-year-old outfielder? Let’s see.
First off, I’m shocked Soto would turn down this deal. On one level. I can see turning this down since the Nationals seem to have no foreseeable winning future, but on the other hand 15 years??? That’s a ridiculously long time for anyone. In fact, it would be the longest in MLB history. Soto would certainly have contract security, and would certainly have money, so I presume this refusal is because he wants to join a team who will be more of a contender, such as the Yankees or Dodgers. I’ll be writing out offers for the next couple of days, so here’s the first deal to consider:
Nationals and Yankees:
Yankees acquire Juan Soto and Kyle Finnegan
Nationals acquire Miguel Andujar, Oswald Peraza, Jasson Dominguez, Ken Waldichuk, Hayden Wesnecki, and T.J. Sikkema.
Yep, that’s a lot of prospects. Good ones at that. Peraza is ranked #38 and Dominguez is placed #39 in MLB.com’s top 100 prospects. They are undoubtedly the two main pieces in the deal. Besides that, I expect the Nationals to want some pitching prospects. Waldichuk is graded #72 in the top 100 and is roughly Major League ready. Hayden Wesnecki is also a very good pitching prospect in AAA, but not with as much hype, ranking #7 in the Yankees system. T.J. Sikkema is a bit more of a wild card in this deal, giving the Nationals another youthful pitcher, but in the lower minors at 23-years-old. Miguel Andujar could be an interesting throw-in piece for the rebuilding Nats, as they could try to rebuild Andujar’s value for next season’s deadline. This is absolutely a steep price to pay for the Yankees, but I believe if they want to win the World Series this year, this is a needed move. They still get to keep Anthony Volpe, but lose 3 young pitchers and Dominguez. Peraza is a young, talented shortstop that the Nationals could definitely use. He might be more expendable to the Yankees due to having Volpe, but he is still an excellent prospect. While he is struggling a little bit at the plate this year, he’s certainly not hitting bad. He has 12 homers and 20 stolen bases. He could be an interesting piece to look at in a Soto trade for sure. Dominguez, only 19 years old and hitting well in A ball, would basically be their future outfielder to replace Soto. They don’t have much outfield depth in their farm system or major league team so Dominguez would start taking care of that. On top of that they get three young pitchers to develop, which will be extremely valuable for the next Nationals contender. Waldichuk’s highest ERA in pro ball has been 3.03, which is extremely good. This year in AAA he has a 2.44 ERA in 70 innings with 106 strikeouts. He’s probably ready for the majors right now but won’t get a real shot with the Yankees this season. Wesneski is a hard-throwing righty that is in AAA and could pretty much come up to the majors as well. Sikkema is further off but is pitching well at Hudson Valley so far. While he doesn’t have very much pro experience, he undoubtedly has the stuff to be an effective pitcher. I think this deal would be great for both sides. The Yankees get arguably the top bat in the majors along with a reliever in Finnegan, while the Nats reload their system with 5 prospects, and get Andujar in the process. In the next article I will be looking at a Mets trade offer for Soto.