Juan Soto’s trade rumors: Cardinals emerge as favorites. Citizens want 4-5 young players

With the MLB trading deadline set for August 2, it’s baseball rumor season. That’s why we’re here to collect all these rumors and pass them on to you via the latest HTML. Now let’s move on to Monday’s buzz about the biggest name on the market: national superstar Juan Soto.

Deadline’s biggest single story is where Juan Soto will play once the music stops. To summarize, Soto reportedly declined an offer to extend a contract worth $440 million from Washington citizensAnd now the citizens are looking forward to trading it. While this trade may be scheduled until the end of the season, there appears to be a lot of momentum at the moment, which means a deal for Soto could meet before the next deadline.

On that front, Jon Heyman reported it Soto might be the most likely candidate to emerge Saint Louis Cardinals. CBS Sports’ RJ Anderson has confirmed the Cardinal’s interest, adding that The potential deal could include Patrick Corbyn, left-winger of Nationals.

The Cardinals are one of the teams that have been reported to be interested in Soto, along with PadresAnd the DodgersAnd the YankeesAnd the metsAnd the sailors, and others. St. Louis may have the most attractive player packages to offer. They have rookie rookie Nolan Gorman, top potential Jordan Walker, and off-field players who are controlled by the team’s Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader. This also tracks the kind of blockbuster the Cardinals have made over the years, including near-recent deals for current stars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. Needless to say, the addition of Soto would be a huge boon to St. Louis’ hopes, both this season and for years to come – assuming, of course, that they can sign Soto for that elusive stretch.

Soto’s asking price is high

Speaking of everything Juan Soto, Ken Rosenthal has some details What might citizens look for in return?. Rosenthal writes:

The Nationals, according to major league sources, are telling teams they want four to five senior junior players for Soto, a mix of potential and major league players with low service time. To meet that price, a club official said, ‘they must tear up the farmer system. your. “

Yes, this is a sharp request that will probably rule out a number of teams that might otherwise be a serious player. However, it is in high demand for good reason. Still only 23 years old, Soto is already a generational performer on the plate. Across parts of five seasons in the major leagues, Soto has a streak of .292/.426/.539, and this season he has OPS + From 157 with 20 home runs in 94 games and 78 unintended walks for just 58 strikes. It is also possible that Soto is pre-peak. If nothing else, he would go on to be one of the top producers in baseball for many years to come. Also, the fact that he is not eligible for free agency until after the 2024 season means there is plenty of time for an extension. This type of player won’t come cheap, to say the least.

What could reduce the question is whether citizens insist on stapling an underwater contract – Patrick Corbyn, for example – to Soto as part of any deal. This, however, is a hefty price tag of a different kind. Either way, the team that takes over Soto will have to pay dearly one way or the other, but it’s definitely worth it (and then some).