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The MLB world was shocked yesterday afternoon when it was announced that Juan Soto could be on his way out the door for the Washington Nationals. The star slugger turned down a massive 15 year, $440 million extension from the Nats, prompting the team to begin exploring trades for Soto with an extension seeming unlikely.
Every team in the league was quickly put on high alert, and the Soto trade rumors figure to dominate the discussion of the 2022 MLB trade deadline. Teams are beginning to decide whether or not they are legitimate suitors for Soto, and whether it would be worth parting with a huge package to land him.
One team that quickly popped up as a potential suitor for Juan Soto was the Boston Red Sox. The Sox are fighting to stay alive in a tough American League East division, and have a solid core that came two wins away from advancing to the World Series last season. They have the assets to land Soto, so let's take a look at the best trade package the Sox could offer in their pursuit of Washington's young star.
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The Boston Red Sox best trade package for Juan Soto
Right off the bat, the Sox have some key players on their team that could be available if they were looking to land Juan Soto. Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts haven't been able to reach long-term extensions with the club. J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi are set to hit free agency next offseason, and if the front office thinks they can't re-sign them, they could send them to Washington as part of a deal for Soto.
Of that group, Devers is the most desirable of the bunch, but he's probably untouchable for the Sox right now. Devers has been outproducing Soto this season, and you can make an argument that Boston would be giving up too much if they included Devers, even if Soto is heading back to Boston.
Martinez and Eovaldi are more difficult to include because they don't really fit Washington's timeline. Martinez has little to no positional value, and while he's still as good hitter, he's going to be a 35 year old free agent by the season's end. Eovaldi has proven he can lead a rotation, but he's already 32, and still can't seem to stay healthy for an entire season.
That leaves Bogaerts as the best possible option for the Red Sox to build a suitable trade package for Soto. Bogaerts is going to opt out of his contract after the season, and he has been unable to reach an extension with Boston so far. It's also worth noting that the Sox signed Trevor Story to a long-term deal last offseason, and have Marcelo Mayer, their top prospect, climbing up the minors as we speak.
There's a decent chance Bogaerts leaves the Red Sox high and dry this offseason as a free agent. This could be Boston's best shot at flipping Bogaerts while they can, and getting something in return. Getting Soto back would certainly offset the sting of losing Bogaerts, who has spent his entire career with the Sox to this point.
Bogaerts on his own isn't going to be enough to get Juan Soto, though. Bogaerts is still in his prime at 29 years old and could be used as a building block for Washington's rebuild, but landing Soto is going to take more. That's where prospects come into play.
Boston currently has four prospects in the MLB's top 100 list, with two (Mayer and Triston Casas) falling in the top 15. Of the guys on that list, only Mayer is probably untouchable. They would like to hang onto Casas too, especially considering how bad Bobby Dalbec has been this season, but that may not be possible here.
The haul of prospects may be a bit smaller considering Bogaerts value, but Casas may ultimately have to be included in this deal. He's on the verge of being major league ready, and could develop into another building block for the Nats.
If the Sox don't want to part with Casas, they could pair up their two other prospects on the top 100 list (Brayan Bello and Nick Yorke) and try to tag on more prospects who are closer to being major league ready. Pitchers Bryan Mata and Brandon Walter are both top 10 prospects for the Sox who could be added here to spice up the deal.
Ultimately, if the Nationals are dealing Juan Soto, they aren't planning on being in contention for the next few years. They will value potential over major-league readiness, which will impact the package Boston offers. The Red Sox are going to have competition to land Soto though, so if they intend on landing him, they are going to have to go big.
Final trade package: SS Xander Bogaerts, 1B Triston Casas, 2B Nick Yorke, LHP Brandon Walter, OF Franchy Cordero
This would be quite the haul, and it may ultimately require more, but this is probably the best package the Sox could offer without draining their entire farm system.
Bogaerts is the centerpiece who may ultimately leave for nothing this offseason. Casas, Yorke, and Walter give the Nationals three of Boston's top ten prospects. All have tons of potential, and Casas and Walter are close to being promoted to the majors. Franchy Cordero is a sweetener who could replace Soto in the starting lineup for the time being, and while he has some upside, he's probably a bench player at best on a playoff contender.
Landing Soto would allow Boston to pair him up with Devers for the long-term future, making the Sox a contender for the foreseeable future. But it will cost them a lot, and whether or not the front office is willing to part with all this prospects remains to be seen. But if they want to land Juan Soto, this would be the best trade package the Boston Red Sox could offer.
