San Diego Padres rumors: Juan Soto, Blake Snell, Josh Hader

On the Fourth of July, there are plenty of trade rumors swirling about the future of three key members of the San Diego Padres.

San Diego Padres rumors: Will the team listen to offers on superstars?

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale in this article, he believes the Padres, in the feelings he attributes to several MLB executives, "would be foolish not to listen to trade offers this month for prized outfielder Juan Soto." With Soto still under team control for one more season, the Padres would likely be able to reap a decent return for the 24-year-old outfielder, although Nightengale writes the return in a Soto trade, "wouldn’t command the same haul they gave up to the Nationals to acquire him a year ago."

Trading Soto is a dicey proposition as it would likely signal a retreat for the Padres from the high aspirations from the offseason. Entering Tuesday's play at 39-46 and 7.0 games out of the NL Wild Card, the Padres will certainly not be at .500 when the All-Star festivities kick into high gear this weekend. However, whether the team gets closer to that mark could well determine part of the strategy for the roster for A.J. Preller and the Padres front office.

If Soto is a part of the long-term plan for the Padres, he will likely command a high price, a price that would keep the Padres from even entertaining the thought of bidding for Shohei Ohtani, who is expected to become a free agent at the end of the season and spark a massive bidding war.

Nightengale also mentions in his article that San Diego is "expected to part ways with former Cy Young winner Blake Snell and All-Star closer Josh Hader at the trade deadline, who are each eligible for free agency after the season." However, again, those moves would signal a complete surrender for the Padres for the 2023 season and those words should likely be taken at face value as the calendar has just turned to July and there is still plenty of time before August 1 when the Padres will need to make a buy or sell decision.

Simply put, what direction the Padres will take at the upcoming MLB trade deadline has yet to be put into place just yet. What happens over the next two weeks will determine what the roster will look like on August 2 and beyond, so don't put too much faith into the rumors and whispers just yet.