Padres News: MLB Insider Says it Would Be ‘Negligent’ to Not Consider Trading Juan Soto at Deadline

Just a year after acquiring the star, it could be time to let Soto go.

Before the start of the 2023 season, the Padres were one of the most hyped teams because of their big-spending in the offseason. Re-signing Juan Soto and Josh Hader, extending Yu Darvish's and Manny Machado's contract are among many other moves that cost the Padres a pretty penny.

However, they are currently eight games below .500 and eight games out of the NL Wild Card race as the All-Star break approaches.

Clearly, the Padres have not had the season they expected to have, and with the trade deadline, they have a tough decision to make.

Should they sell some of their high-profile players, at a loss, and give up on their World-Series-or-bust mentality that drove their decision-making in the offseason? Or, should they postpone the embarrassment of losing with such a talented roster until October, and attempt to win some baseball games in the process.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the Padres would "be foolish" if they refuse to consider hearing offers for Juan Soto, a young outfielder who hits with the best of them.

Soto's contract is set to expire after the 2024 season and he reportedly has shown few signs that he is interested in signing a contract extension with the Padres. Moving Soto before the trade deadline would give the Padres a revived group of prospects and lower their payroll entering next season.

They could even, as Nightengale points out, make more room to potentially sign Shohei Ohtani in free agency.

Soto is hitting .277 with a top-ten ranked OPS of .926 on the season. He stands to sign a huge contract when the time comes, as the 24-year-old has many more quality years ahead of him. It is starting to look like those quality years will not be spent in gold and brown.

The trade deadline is Aug. 1, giving the Padres less than a month to decide if they want to buy or sell.