Soto traded to tha Yankees!

The trade everybody knew would happen finally went down where the Padres, looking to shed payroll, traded star Juan Soto and center fielder Trent Grisham to the Yankees for pitchers Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, and Drew Thorpe as well as catcher Kyle Higashioka. This should be looked at as a positive trade for both sides. Let’s take a deeper look.

Yankees return:

When looking at Juan Soto he needs no introduction. Soto has been a top hitter in the league since he came up in 2018 as a 19 year old. He’s already a 3 time All Star, 4 time Silver Slugger, won the batting title in 2019, won the Homerun Derby, and is already a World Series Champion. He has been compared to this generation’s Ted Williams and his resume backs that up. He’s never been below a 16% walk rate and has led the league in base percentage multiple times and never having less than a .400 on base percentage. He rarely ever chances pitches outside the zone and has walked more than he’s struckout in 4 straight seasons. He’s not just a master of the zone with a 55% hard hit rate he kills the ball whenever he does swing hitting 35 homers last season the most in his career, he’s expected to hit even more with the short porch in Yankees Stadium. He’s had an above 140 wRC+ every year even being as high as 202 in 2020. The only thing that he’s not superstar level at is his defense in left field which is atrocious. He is better in right field where he’ll likely play next season with the addition of Alex Verdugo from the Red Sox. He’s currently on a one year deal expected to make about $29 million next season. With his agent being Boras I don’t expect him to sign his megadeal as an extension during the season and will likely test the market next offseason. 

The Yankees didn’t just get Soto they also got 2 time Gold Glove winner Trent Grisham. Grisham will likely be the 4th outfielder for the Yankees with top prospect Jason Dominguez having Tommy John surgery and not being ready for the season and Stanton not being able to play the outfield anymore the Yankees really needed someone like Grisham. Like Soto Grisham walks a lot but unlike Soto he also whiffs at a lot of pitches leading to more strikeouts. Even though he is a lefty hitter he actually hits better against lefties with an almost .80 average bump but the Padres used him more against righties. Hopefully the Yankees play to his strengths and Grisham cuts down on his strikeouts to become a solid player. With Grisham already in arb 2 and likely making around $5 million next season his days in the league as a starter could be numbered if he can’t turn it around.

Padres return:

With the Padres having $115 million locked up on 8 players before the offseason started and being so low on money they had to take out a loan last season just to pay the players along with the sadly untimely death of owner Peter Seidler it was rumored this offseason the Padres would look to shed some payroll and that all started with Soto’s massive expected earning of $29 million. Trading away a superstar isn’t easy and is always going to be looked at as a win for the opposing team but in my opinion the Padres got away well here. The Padres were in massive need of cheap pitching, losing starters Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, and Nick Martinez as well as premier closer Josh Hader. They got four pitchers who will contribute this year or next year.

The one with the most Major League experience is Michael King. The 29 year old Ling started his minor league career as a starter but has been one of the best setup men in baseball the last two seasons. Late last season the Yankees were running low on starters and used King in that role where he excelled in 9 starts he had a 2.23 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. With the Padres needing starting pitching they could continue to use him in this role or as their closer after losing Hader they need a high leverage reliever in the bullpen and King is just that with a 29% strikeout percentage and only a 7% walk rate last season he is a premier reliever with a 3.13 FIP. He’s under team control for the next two seasons only expected to make $3 million next season, a really good pitcher for the Padres. 

The next pitcher in the deal is Jhony Brito. He made his debut last season at 25 years old and made 13 starts with 25 appearances. Honestly Brito doesn’t have great stuff. His best pitch is his sinker which he gets a lot of weak contact from. He also has a changeup that gets hit way too hard and a curveball that gets a lot of swings and misses but he can’t locate very well. His four seam is his worst pitch and he leaves it up in the zone a lot to get hit hard. He could provide innings though for a Padres team that needs it whether that be out of the bullpen or starting.

The next pitcher is Randy Vasquez who also made his debut last season. Vasquez made spot starts throughout the season until being called up during September Call Ups and being used as a multi inning guy out of the bullpen. He had an interesting season with a 2.87 ERA but a 4.98 FIP. This mainly stems from a low strikeout rate and high walk rate. Coming through the minors Vasquez has almost always had a high walk rate but has an average to above average strikeout rate at every stop. He has six pitches including 3 different fastballs. The Padres will likely tinker with the amount he throws each pitch, likely lowering his cutter usage as that was far and away his worst pitch as well as increase his curveball usage which is his best whiff pitch and has crazy horizontal movement. If the Padres can’t develop him as a starter, where he’ll likely start this season, he could be a solid bullpen pitcher.

The last pitcher the Padres got is Drew Thorpe. Thorpe will come in as the 6th best prospect in the Padres system according to MLB.com. He was a second round pick in 2022 and in his first professional season last year already made 5 starts in AA. He dominated with high A and AA last season especially AA where he had a 40% strikeout rate with only a 4.5% walk rate and a 2.15 FIP. Thorpe has a monster changeup that produces a lot of chases as well as a slider that he continues to improve. His fastball is below average but works well with his other pitches. He could definitely come up towards the end of this season if he continues to pitch well after likely starting his season in AA. This is the big get for the Padres and Thorpe should at worst be a good #4 or #5 in this rotation for years. 

The only position player acquired by the Padres was catcher Kyle Higashioka. The longtime Yankee has been in their system since 2008 and on the active roster since 2017 as a depth and backup catcher. He’s a master pitch framer but doesn’t have the arm or pop time to throw out a lot of runners. He hits the ball hard but usually right at somebody and strikeouts out way too much. He has one of the worst walk rates in the league, in 2020 he didn’t walk a single time in 48 at bats. He’s a solid backup especially for young catchers learning to field their position and the Padres are that team. Last year they struggled to find a catcher going through multiple catchers until Gary Sanchez broke out after signing mid season but this season they are looking to roll with former top prospect Luis Campusano who’s coming off an injury riddled 2023. Campusano is the opposite of Higashioka, mainly a hitting catcher who needs to work on his defense. 

It’s not the best return for a top 3 player in baseball but with the financial situation the Padres are stuck in as well as Soto being on the final year of his contract. I think the Padres made out well here with high potential arms in Vasquez and Thorpe as well as King who’s ready to go right away. They should lead the Padres in the future after a likely retooling year in 2024.