San Diego Padres rumors and news: Juan Soto, Yankees, Phillies, 2024 opener

It's another off day for the San Diego Padres between the All-Star Game and the unofficial second half of the season starting on Friday night in Philadelphia. To help pass the time, let's look at some of the latest Padres rumors and news.

San Diego Padres: Juan Soto on Derek Jeter's wish list for the New York Yankees

Let's face it ... it wouldn't be mid-July without some kind of rumors and buzz floating out there. While it's expected that the Padres will "be aggressive" at the upcoming MLB trade deadline, that didn't stop current Fox baseball analyst (and former New York Yankees legend) Derek Jeter from sending out his wish that Juan Soto would head to the Bronx in a trade should San Diego become a seller.

“I do believe the San Diego Padres could get hot and really make some waves in the National League West,” Jeter said. “But if they don’t, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Yankees go out and get Juan Soto. You don’t know how long Judge is going to be out, they need some offense, I think it makes sense.”

So it's a bit of a back-handed compliment to San Diego it seems. After all, Jeter is believing there is a strong run left in the Padres, but he also clearly has a Plan B for Soto that also benefits his former team.

Additionally, there is also this little note about Soto's travel plans after the All-Star Game.

Certainly that may lead to aboslutely nothing (t is, after all, the City of Brotherly Love), but don't be surprised to see some Phillies-Soto rumors starting to spring to life during the series because of it.

San Diego Padres start 2024 against Los Angeles Dodgers in Seoul

No matter how the 2023 season ends for the Padres, you can count on the start of the 2024 season being memorable for San Diego.

The trip to Seoul will be especially meaningful for Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim, a native of South Korea. Kim talked about how the series was going to be special for him and Korean baseball fans in the video below.

The Seoul series is part of three international trips for MLB next season, with the Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros meeting in Mexico City in late April and the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies continuing their rivalry in London in June.