By: @PadresConnect 8/2/2022
A.J. Preller has been busy at the trade deadline most years as Padres GM and 2022 has been no exception.
It's hard not to be romantic about baseball isn't it?
Year after year Padres G.M. AJ Preller has been the belle of the MLB trade deadline ball. Regardless of what state the team finds themselves in that particular year, Padres fans have come to expect the executive to make a splash in the trade market and most years they have been correct in that expectation.
With all the moves Preller has made over the years, the 2022 MLB Trade deadline will undoubtedly go down as one of, if not the, most impactful trade deadline in Padres history.
The Deal:
San Diego gets: Juan Soto (OF), Josh Bell (1B)
Washington gets: Mackenzie Gore (SP), CJ Abrams (SS), James Wood (OF), Robert Hassell III (OF), Jarlin Susana (SP), Luke Voit (DH/1B)
Firstly we'd just like to say WOW.
Summary:
This trade has the potential to shape the trajectory of the Padres for the next ten years. Not only in terms of what the Padres gave up (likely the biggest talent haul in MLB history) in the form of the Padres #1,#3, and #14 best prospects, but also Mackenzie Gore and CJ Abrams who have each reached the majors and are considered future stars in their own right.
On the Padres end of this, Juan Soto (age 23) is under control for 2 years beyond the 2022 season and is for all intents and purposes considered one of the best position player in Major League Baseball and one of the most marketable young stars in the game. It goes without saying that a generational superstar doesn't come around often and Preller felt that the chance to add him to a roster that includes Tatis and Machado was too good to pass up.
This move, in and of itself, reaffirmed what we all knew to be true: Peter Seidler and the Padres brass are hell bent on winning and bringing a championship to San Diego.
What is incredibly important to note is what got the Padres into position to make this deal. The Padres scouting and player development departments earned themselves a raise because there were no shortage of suitors when it came to Soto's services. However, the Padres being inundated with young talent up and down their system clearly had the prospects to make the best deal all along.
The thinking from A.J. Preller and company is clear, the Padres are going to have to go up against the Dodgers for the foreseeable future and Los Angeles has no intention of slowing down. San Diego has no reason to operate along the margins and hope the Dodgers slip up because their payroll, status, and commitment to winning does not falter. Therefore the Padres management saw only one way forward - if we want to beat the team with superstar talent we have to become a team with superstar talent. Period. And that is what this trade was all about.
Given the Padres hitting struggles, many fans were ready to give up the entire list of our top prospects, most of the MLB team, the bat boy, every Board & Brew location, and a chain of In N Out Burger restaurants to get some batting help infused into our lineup. In addition to gaining Soto's services, the Padres also got one hell of a "throw in" in 1B Josh Bell. I use the term "throw in" ironically because only in a deal for Juan Soto is an all star 1B seen as an afterthought. Josh Bell is currently top 10 in the National League in the following categories: batting average, hits, on-base percentage, slugging, and doubles. Yep, that'll do.
Quick Notes:
Perspective is everything - 2021 was a painful blur for many Padres fan (myself included). Missing out on Max Scherzer at the 2021 trade deadline led to the Padres having the organizational depth to make the deal for Soto and Bell. At the time, losing Scherzer (and to the rival Dodgers no less) stung like citrus in a paper cut. However, in retrospect, that missed opportunity may have positively impacted the Padres for years to come.
The Scott Boras Effect - Much of the reason why Soto was available in a trade was because he did not sign an extension offer that Washington had presented. Boras, known as an MLB super agent, represents the biggest names in the game and has a very clear track record of wanting his clients to reach MLB free agency. Sound advice, to be sure, to ensure a bidding war from all 30 teams and maximize a player's earning potential. However, you can be sure that Preller and company would do anything in their power to not let Soto reach that point. This is definitely something to remember moving forward considering how much of the future San Diego is mortgaging for this championship run.
Thank you, Eric Hosmer - Hopefully, the members of Padres twitter don't close this article as soon as they read that; however, there was a time when Eric Hosmer was San Diego's prodigal son. When Hos signed with the Padres back in 2018 he was fresh off of a World Series win, Gold Glove, and had multiple teams vying for his services. Pre-Hosmer, the Padres lineup was comprised of Jabari Blash, Carlos Asuaje, Ryan Schimpf, Yangervis Solarte, and others. Not exactly the names you see the Padres penciling into the scorecard today. Of course, fast forward to 2022 and Hosmer has been lamented (and rightfully so) for his lack of improvement, fielding miscues, poor batting performance, and more. However, let us not be prisoners of the moment. While it was 100% time for Hosmer and the Padres to part ways we, as fans, must understand that Eric Hosmer signing with San Diego was the first time that the Friars had signed a notable free agent in decades.
What the Hosmer signing did was send a notice out to the league's best players that the Padres wanted to win and that they were serious. A sort of "come on in, the water's fine" type of signal to the league that signing with San Diego was not the career suicide it may have been in the past. Of course, there's no way of knowing how much that impacted the consequent signing of Manny Machado and the arrival of other star talent; however, it definitely seems as if though that was the first domino to fall to get us to where we are today.
This is an unprecedented time in San Diego Padres history. On paper, we have the horses to get it done. We have the bats, the arms, and the bullpen. Now all that's left is the easy part; let's play ball.
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