5 trade destinations for Juan Soto if the San Diego Padres decide to sell

The San Diego Padres are on the brink of selling. At 45-50 entering Wednesday's play, they're 10.5 games back in the NL West and 7.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the National League. They're not dead yet, but they're awfully close.

If the Padres do indeed decide to sell, players on expiring deals should be first to go. Guys like Blake Snell and Josh Hader can get them really nice pieces despite being rentals.

Expiring contracts should be the first players moved, but the Padres do have a decision to make with Juan Soto. The superstar outfielder will be a free agent after next season and seems to be unlikely to ink an extension prior. Rather than risk Soto walking in free agency for nothing more than a draft pick, the Padres can look to recoup most of the value they lost by trading for him by dealing the superstar now with 1.5 years of control.

If the Padres do make Soto available, most of the league will be in on him. The price tag is expected to be astronomical. Here are the five destinations I think make the most sense.

1) Padres trade destination for Juan Soto: New York Yankees

The New York Yankees need help. That is very clear. Their offense has been among baseball's worst since Aaron Judge went down with an injury, and with the team spiraling further out of postseason contention, a trade like this could be what they need to turn their season around.

New York is sitting in last in the AL East and are 2.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot. Their season is far from over, but with their recent struggles, a big move has to be made.

The Yankees have the prospect capital led by the likes of Jasson Dominguez, Oswald Peraza, and Austin Wells, and can offer a destination Soto might like as well. They're a big market team with the resources to give Soto a blank check.

Brian Cashman has often shied away from making these big prospect moves, but the Yanks need a big bat. Acquiring one with another guaranteed year of control could be what gets him to do it. Soto and Judge hitting second and third in that lineup makes it scary.

2) Padres trade destination for Juan Soto: Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays are another team with the opportunity to make a splash. They're ahead of the Yankees and in the second Wild Card spot but are just one game ahead of Houston for that spot and are just 2.5 games away from being out of the playoff picture all together.

Often when you think about the Blue Jays in recent years, you think of them having an elite offense that's made of mostly right-handed hitters.

The Jays added some left-handed hitters like Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Belt, and Dalton Varsho but the offensive production hasn't quite been what we're used to seeing. Toronto is tied for 15th in runs scored and sit in 11th in OPS. They're an average to slightly above average offensive team.

If they were to add an impact bat like Soto and hit him in between Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., that would be the best 2-4 in baseball by a longshot. Their lineup 1-9 would be incredibly deep, and Toronto would be a whole lot more formidible than they are right now.

The Jays have Ricky Tiedemann, one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball to dangle in a deal to get Soto along with some other decent prospects. He might not want to sign long term in Toronto, but that shouldn't stop the Jays who are trying to win right now and would have two cracks at it with him.

3) Padres trade destination for Juan Soto: Philadelphia Phillies

Like the Blue Jays, the Phillies have one of the best lineups in baseball. It's deep and full of players who can hit a home run at virtually any moment while playing in one of the best hitting environments in the game. Adding Soto might be overkill, but this is the same team that added both Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos in the same offseason.

Let's just take a minute to imagine this lineup.

1. Trea Turner - SS
2. Juan Soto - LF
3. Nick Castellanos - RF
4. Bryce Harper - 1B (Phillies plan on using Harper at 1B very soon)
5. J.T. Realmuto - C
6. Kyle Schwarber - DH
7. Alec Bohm - 3B
8. Bryson Stott - 2B
9. Brandon Marsh - CF

How exactly do you pitch to this lineup? Short answer, you don't. The Phillies won the pennant last season and would have a great shot at doing so again if they pull off a Soto deal. They'd have the best lineup in baseball, and with the way they spend they can't be ruled out in retaining him either.

The Phillies have the desperation and the pieces to make it work. Andrew Painter might've just lost some value as he's about to undergo Tommy John Surgery, but he's one of, if not the best pitching prospect in baseball right now. The Phillies have other high-end pitching prospects as well with guys like Mick Abel and Griff McGarry.

It'd definitely be annoying to see Soto wear the uniform of the team that knocked the Friars out of the postseason last season, but a Soto deal is about getting the best return possible. Philadelphia has the elite prospect San Diego would want in Painter along with some other intriguing ones that could put them over the top.

And we know Phillies media has been asking about Soto plenty, right?

4) Padres trade destination for Juan Soto: Baltimore Orioles

Will this happen? Probably not. The Orioles are known to be stingy with money and Juan Soto makes a lot of it. He is going to make even more of it when he hits free agency. The chances of him staying in Baltimore are low, but that shouldn't matter.

The Orioles are a team that has catapulted itself into a team that should try and win right now. Last season they were competitive at the deadline, but decided to sell. This season is completely different. They're 57-37 on the year. You don't get to 20 games over .500 by accident. They're legit, and adding a superstar to their lineup would give them one of the best lineups in baseball.

Slotting Juan Soto between the likes of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Anthony Santander would be a treat to watch, and considering Soto's age, he fits the timeline.

For as good as the Orioles now, they're also a team loaded with prospect capital. Jackson Holliday is the headliner as he's the best prospect in all of baseball, but the Orioles have several other pieces San Diego would want. The Orioles could trade three or four of them and not skip a beat.