Padres Rumors: NL West rival poised to bid on outfielder Juan Soto in free agency

As good as the 2024 season has treated the San Diego Padres overall, there is just no denying that the team trading Juan Soto away was a real low point. Soto remains one of the absolute best hitters in baseball, and while the Padres' return in the trade has worked out well, losing a guy that talented has been a hard pill to swallow. Can you imagine Soto in this Padres lineup? Actual chills.

With the season winding down, attention is going to turn to Soto's impending free agency in a hurry as it's likely to result in one of the biggest deals we have ever seen given to a baseball player. Current estimates have Soto getting well over $500 million and, honestly, that doesn't feel like a stretch.

As for where Soto could end up, a nightmare scenario is currently brewing. Most expect the Yankees to make a strong push to bring him back, with the Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies and even Nationals also being in the running.

That's not the problem, though. It's the Giants' reported interest in Soto that could present some real problems for the Padres next season and beyond.

SF Giants' potential pursuit of Juan Soto is Padres fans' second-worst nightmare

If we are being honest in our heart of hearts, the actual worst-case scenario with Soto is if the Dodgers somehow came up with the money to snag him. It is already easy to hate the Dodgers as a team that is indiscriminately throwing money around and screwing the market up for everyone else. If LA got Soto the offseason after getting Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, that would put Padres fans in a dark place.

However, the Giants landing Soto wouldn't be far behind the Dodgers in terms of truly horrid landing spots. And it actually seems plausible. San Francisco both has long coveted a marquee bat and has a lot of money burning a hole in their pocket. The Giants aren't having a great year, but they are certainly a more appealing destination now that they have extended Matt Chapman and might be the team best positioned to give the Scott Boras-represented Soto the most money.

Given how much the Padres and Giants fanbases seem to hate each other, adding Soto to the division foe's roster not only would add to that animosity, but would make the NL West a true gauntlet. The Rockies will likely be bad until the heat death of the universe, so this would put the Padres (obviously good), Dodgers (sadly very good), Diamondbacks (often good), and Giants (Soto would make them good) all in the same division vying for supremacy.

That would make for some great drama and content, but Padres fans are probably hoping that he stays in New York.

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