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3 Seattle Mariners players the San Diego Padres should demand in a Juan Soto trade

If the San Diego Padres were to trade Juan Soto to the Seattle Mariners, they should demand any combination of these three players as part of the return.

By Zachary Rotman |
Sep 13, 2022; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Juan Soto (22) stands in the
Sep 13, 2022; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Juan Soto (22) stands in the / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
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The Seattle Mariners shocked the baseball world with a late-night trade that sent Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales, and Evan White to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for two young pitchers. Essentially, this deal was a salary dump for the Mariners. It's the second salary dump Seattle has executed this offseason.

Considering the fact that the Mariners disappointed last season by winning just 88 games and failing to make the postseason, them parting with Eugenio Suarez and Jarred Kelenic without acquiring much in return is a bit odd. Seattle potentially losing Teoscar Hernandez to free agency makes things even weirder. The only way Jerry Dipoto dumping money like this makes any sense is if another move is on the horizon.

Shohei Ohtani would be the most intriguing one, obviously, but that doesn't seem likely. Assuming that doesn't happen, what about a Juan Soto trade with the San Diego Padres? We all know the Padres will likely be moving Juan Soto in a deal this offseason to try and save money while also salvaging some value in return, and the Mariners make a lot of sense as a potential partner. He'd be one of few players they could add that'd justify the dumping of money in exchange for not much of anything.

If a Juan Soto trade with the Mariners were to go down, A.J. Preller should be demanding any combination of these three players to come back in return.

1) Logan Gilbert could be part of a Mariners-Padres trade

George Kirby is easily the most appealing player the Padres could acquire in a Juan Soto trade, but considering how good he already is and the years of team control he has left, it's just not happening. The second-best option for the Padres is Logan Gilbert, who could be a bit more realistic.

Gilbert is entering his first year of arbitration this offseason and is under team control through the 2027 season. He's not as good, young, or controllable as Kirby, but he's as close as they can get in all three of those regards.

The right-hander just wrapped up his third MLB season and posted a 3.73 ERA in 32 starts and 190.2 innings pitched. In his short career he's proven himself to be a durable, reliable innings eater which is pretty rare nowadays. At just 26 years old with four years of control it's hard to know if they'd be willing to deal him for a rental, but this is Juan Soto we're talking about here. The Padres have to shoot for the stars.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required), the Mariners were reportedly open to dealing one of their controllable starters at the deadline in exchange for a controllable hitter. Juan Soto certainly is not that, but again, it's Juan Soto. He'd help transform Seattle's offense and would create possibly the scariest lineup duo in the game alongside Julio Rodriguez. It's something the Mariners would at least have to think hard about. If they don't pull that trigger, there are other arms that could entice San Diego.

2) Bryan Woo could be part of a Mariners-Padres trade

Virtually the entire Mariners rotation is young and affordable, and Bryan Woo is no exception to that. At just 23 years old he's one of the more intriguing arms Seattle has to offer, considering the fact that he just made his MLB debut this past season and performed admirably.

In 18 starts for the Mariners, Woo posted a 4.21 ERA in 87.2 innings pitched. The ERA might be a tick higher than Gilbert's, but some of that can be explained by three rough starts which saw Woo allow six earned runs in each one. No, you can't completely write those off, but he was pretty consistently solid in the rest of his outings.

Woo managed to allow two runs or fewer in 12 of his 18 starts. He allowed one run or less in eight of his 18 starts. Nearly half the time he held the opposition to nothing, or the bare minimum. I'd say that's rock solid.

The right-hander does not even hit arbitration until after the 2026 season. He has so many years of control, and won't make more than the minimum until 2027. For a team as cash-strapped as the Padres, that's beyond useful, especially when he showed as much promise as he did. It's a no-brainer to have him involved in any Soto deal, and he'd probably be easier to get than Gilbert considering he's a bit more unproven.

3) Emerson Hancock could be part of a Mariners-Padres trade

The Padres won't only be searching for headliners in a Juan Soto trade. We've seen that in their talks with the Yankees. They'll want multiple contributors to help them try to win in 2024. While San Diego would only likely get one of Gilbert or Woo, they should be able to get Emerson Hancock as a secondary piece in the deal. He's not as highly touted and doesn't have a clear role with Seattle right now, but can certainly make an impact for the Padres.

The right-hander was selected sixth overall in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Mariners, and is currently their sixth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. No, he's not considered a top-100 prospect, but neither are pitchers the Padres are linked to in reported Yankees packages with the exception of Drew Thorpe.

What makes Hancock so valuable for the Padres is, again, the fact that he's a MLB-ready arm that they can plug into the back of their rotation and keep around for cheep for a long time. Hancock made his MLB debut with Seattle this past season and pitched pretty well in two of his three starts. In fact, he made his MLB debut against the Padres and allowed just one run in five innings. That one run was courtesy of an RBI groundout off the bat of, you guessed it, Juan Soto.

His season did end prematurely due to a shoulder injury which can be scary, but there was no structural damage in his shoulder. Again, he wouldn't be the headliner, but as an addition to Gilbert or Woo, it makes a lot of sense. This team desperately needs pitching, especially cheap pitching.

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