Juan Soto traded to the Padres, ‘one of the biggest deals in baseball history’

The San Diego Padres have reportedly landed Juan Soto, according to multiple MLB insiders. First baseman Luke Voit was traded in place of Eric Hosmer, who turned down a trade.

Soto will join sluggers Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, this is “one of the biggest deals in baseball history.”

The Padres also acquired Washington Nationals first baseman Josh Bell in the deal. They traded several players and prospects, including pitchers MacKenzie Gore, James Wood and Jarlin Susana, shortstop C.J. Abrams and outfielder Robert Hassell III.

According to Passan, the Nationals are just waiting on one more major league player to finalize the deal.

Soto will undoubtedly have a huge impact in San Diego.

Juan Soto will have a massive impact on the Padres

Soto recently turned down a 15-year $440 million extension from the Nationals, which would’ve been the largest contract in MLB history.

He’ll provide power to the lineup that San Diego’s been lacking. He recently won the 2022 Home Run Derby and is hitting .246/.408/.485 for an OPS of .893. He’s hitting just slightly worse than Machado, who is currently the Padres best hitter.

He’s undoubtedly the biggest upgrade to the outfield possible, which was seemingly an area of focus all season. The best outfield hitter, Jurickson Profar, is hitting .249/.349/.422. Both Profar and Soto have great walk and strike percentages and will work well together in the lineup.

Bell will also bring a great amount of power to the lineup. Bell is hitting .301/.384/.493 for an OPS of .877 this season.