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The San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals have agreed in principle on a blockbuster trade involving Juan Soto and Josh Bell. Padres veteran Eric Hosmer is also reportedly part of the monster deal and is slated to go to the Nationals, but Washington is on Hosmer's no-trade list and he must give approval for the current version of the trade to become official.
As of right now, that hasn't happened:
Soto deal will not be official until Hosmer agrees to waive his no-trade stipulation to the Nationals. To this point he has not, according to a source. Negotiations almost certainly taking place.
ā Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 2, 2022
San Diego #Padres 1B Eric Hosmer has NOT approved the trade to Washington. The #Nats are on his no-trade list. It remains to be seen if he changes his mind.
ā Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 2, 2022
Sources: #Padres and Eric Hosmerās representatives currently negotiating about what it would take for Hosmer to approve his trade to the #Nats. The Juan Soto/Josh Bell blockbuster ā in its current form ā is contingent on Hosmerās assent. @MLB @MLBNetwork
ā Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 2, 2022
The assumption is that this Eric Hosmer holdup will be worked out, or at the very least the trade will simply be reworked without Hosmer to make sure it gets done. Soto and Bell are going to wind up with the Padres even if Hosmer does indeed wind up rejecting his move, but this deal isn't official just yet as this situation gets worked out.
Hosmer joined the Padres for the 2018 season after spending the first seven years of his career with the Kansas City Royals. Hosmer went to his lone All-Star Game in 2016 as a member of the Royals.
The first baseman is now 32 years old and on the downside of his career. While Eric Hosmer is still a decent player, San Diego wanted to dump his contract in order to make room for the stars coming in. The franchise is even willing to be on the hook for most of his deal:
Nate would only be responsible for $8m of Hosmer contract if he is in the trade according to sources.
ā Jim Bowdenā¾ļøš (@JimBowdenGM) August 2, 2022
Assuming this deal winds up getting done, the Padres become a much bigger threat in the NL. While they're well behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West, San Diego is in position for a Wild Card berth. Making this trade splash along with acquiring Josh Hader will only help their cause.
Now we wait to see what officially happens with Eric Hosmer.