Rival execs perceive Padres to be frontrunner for Juan Soto

Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Rival execs reportedly perceive Padres to be front-runner for Nationals star Juan Soto

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 7/28/22

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Wednesday that the organization was talking with " several teams " about the availability of superstar outfielder Juan Soto.

Could the San Diego Padres be one of those teams?

As of Thursday morning, some rival executives perceive the Padres to be the frontrunner to land Juan Soto.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 28, 2022

Rizzo initially said at the beginning of June that the Nationals wouldn't be trading the recently-crowned Home Run Derby champion, but with the chances of a contract extension now all but out the window, a trade appears imminent. Soto has recorded 20 home runs, 45 RBI and a league-leading 84 walks this season, along with a .243/.400/.480 slash line over 97 games this season.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network and New York Post reported Thursday that the Padres are far from the only team in pursuit of Soto.

While there’s no word the Yankees are officially out on Juan Soto it’s clear they aren’t currently at the forefront of those talks. So it makes sense they jumped on Andrew Benintendi. SD, STL, LAD and TEX, perhaps due to better prospect matches, seem more involved in Soto talks.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 28, 2022

In addition to apparently having their eyes on the Washington star, it was reported earlier Thursday that the Friars were looking at Oakland Athletics ace Frankie Montas, as well as Los Angeles Angels two-way stud Shohei Ohtani. San Diego currently holds the second wild card spot in the National League and has never won a World Series.

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