New York Yankees acquire slugger Juan Soto in multi-player trade with Padres
The New York Yankees acquired outfielders Juan Soto and Trent Grisham in a blockbuster deal with the San Diego Padres per, ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The trade is believed to feature pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vázquez, and catcher Kyle Higashioka.
The framework of the deal was first reported by Jack Curry of YES Network and Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Soto has one year remaining of control on his contract before he becomes a free agent. The trade gives the Yankees a formidable power duo of Soto and Aaron Judge.
The resume for the 25-year-old speaks for itself. The three time All-Star and 2019 World Series champion ows a career slash line of .284/.410/.519 to go along with 160 home runs in just six seasons.
Grisham will serve as a fourth outfielder for the Yankees. The left-hander is under control for this upcoming season and is arbitration eligible next year. He has played centerfield while delivering a plus-7 outs above average.
Offensively, the 27-year-old has really struggled the last two seasons as he has slashed .191/.300/.347 to go along with 30 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
The trade sets up a starting outfield alignment of newly acquired Alex Verdugo in left, Judge in center, and Soto in right field. In larger ballparks, it would make sense if Soto went to designated hitter and Grisham played in the outfield.
King came on to the scene as a reliever for the Yankees and really found his footing over the last two seasons where he pitched to a 2.60 ERA while collecting 193 strikeouts in 155.2 innings.
The 28-year-old transitioned into a starter towards the end of last year and had a 2.23 ERA in nine starts. King has two years remaining on his contract.
Thorpe is one of the Yankees best pitching prospects. The southpaw, led the minor leagues in strikeouts with 182 in 139 1/3 innings relying on a five-pitch mix highlighted by his changeup. He posted a 2.52 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with Double-A Somerset this year, holding opponents to a .199 batting average.
“One of those guys [against whom] you might be comfortable in the box,” his Hudson Valley manager, Sergio Santos, said about midseason to the New York Post, “but you walk away going 0-for-4 with a couple of groundouts, a punchout and a pop-up.”
Brito made his major league debut at 25-years-old this season. He appeared in 25 games (13 starts) and put together a 4.28 ERA giving up 43 earned runs through 90.1 innings.
Vásquez came up to the majors last season at 24-years-old. Appearing in only 11 games (5 starts) and had a 2.87 ERA. His advanced metrics show a 4.98 FIP, but it was a small sample size.
Higashioka provides the Padres with catching depth with Gary Sanchez currently a free agent. The 33-year-old veteran is under control for a year and is in the 92nd percentile in framing. He has had exactly 10 homeruns in each of his last three seasons
The Padres have three free agents that made up their rotation last season in Blake Snell, Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha. Depending on how the Padres view the roles of King and the new prospects acquired, they could join a rotation that includes Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove.
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