Padres Rumors: Juan Soto Contract Extension Still Being Explored

Should San Diego sign him long-term?

While the majority of the baseball world is talking about what Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will do, the San Diego Padres have their own star player who could be on the move. The team has been weighing what to do with star outfielder Juan Soto for some time now, and there has been a ton of buzz around a possible trade.

After a tough season that saw the Friars miss the postseason, the organization seems to want to shed salary heading into 2024. They tried the all-in approach and it came back to bite them this year.

Soto is entering the final year of his current contract, and the Padres have seemed hesitant to offer him what it would take for him to resign. Especially if they want to shed salary, resigning Soto to a massive deal isn’t the way to go.

But President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller did say at the GM Meetings that the two sides are still discussing a possible contract extension.

On Juan Soto, Preller says the two sides will continue to discuss the possibility of an extension. He also acknowledged that, "Juan long-term, Juan on a one-year deal, that brings different dynamics. We understand what that means for our roster both short-term and long-term."

— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) November 8, 2023

This would go against what has been reported, and a trade still makes the most sense for the team. Trading Soto would shore up the salary cap, and it would also allow them to recoup some assets that they moved to get him in the first place. While they won’t get the same amount back for him, San Diego can still receive some quality pieces in return if they move him.

They then could move those assets to get players to help make this a more balanced squad, so they don’t run into similar problems going forward. But on the flip side, losing Soto would sting, and they would have to find a way to replace his production.

He is still one of the elite players in the game today, and the Padres may not want to give up on that just yet. There is also a possibility that they keep Soto to start the year, and then move him at the trade deadline if they feel they don’t want to resign him.

San Diego has a ton of options with Soto, but they should make a firm decision on what they will do this offseason soon. They need to start building for 2024, and knowing if he will be on the team next season makes a big difference in that.