MLB Insider Believes Juan Soto's Time With Padres Is Done

Things seem to be moving quickly.

After a wildly frustrating 2023 season, the San Diego Padres are entering a strange offseason. They missed the postseason despite all of the preseason hype that surrounded them, and now they are searching for ways to get themselves back into playoff contention.

One way for this team to do that is to build a more well-rounded roster. They tried the all-in approach and it came back to hurt them this past season.

Now the team wants to cut payroll after a failed season, and there has been plenty of buzz surrounding them trading away star outfielder Juan Soto. Soto is entering his final season with the team, and it remains unlikely that San Diego will try to extend him long-term. 

This has led many to believe that Soto is a prime candidate to be traded this winter, and we just got a big update on his status. MLB insider Ken Rosenthal said that he believes Soto's time with the Padres is done during an appearance on the Foul Territory show.

“Let’s start with the Padres. Even before we published that article the other day, we had heard a lot of talk about their need to cut payroll to get down to about $200 million, they were about $250–$260 I believe this year So, Soto to me is a gone”

Per Ken Rosenthal via

Foul Territory

If this is true, the Padres would need to replace him in their lineup. He was an extremely productive member of the team last season and showed that he is still one of the best players in the game today.

While the Padres won't get the haul back for him that they traded away for his services, they still can replenish their farm system. And then they can take those players to build a better team for 2024.

This certainly will be an interesting narrative to follow all offseason until we reach a conclusion on the matter. The Padres have to do something differently for next season with their roster, and it seems that Soto could end up being the big move.