Report: Nationals To Trade Juan Soto

The Washington Nationals have made a move to trade their top young hitter, along with a teammate, for two MLB players and four prospects.

San Diego is reportedly the winners of the Juan Soto derby, as the Washington Nationals have reportedly agreed to a deal that will ship both Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres on Tuesday.

MLB.com reported the agreement in principle. MLB.com also reported that the Nationals will receive current Padres Eric Hosmer and MacKenzie Gore, along with prospects CJ Abrams, outfielder Robert Hassell III, outfielder James Wood and right-handed pitcher Jarlin Susana.

Hosmer later refused to report to Washington, and the Padres reportedly worked out a deal to send him to Boston. The Padres then included Luke Voit in the deal. 

Soto was the most coveted prize on the trade market after Soto turned down a monster $440 million contract extension from the Washington Nationals.

As late as a month ago, Nats general manager Mike Rizzo said the club had no intention of trading him. The Nats made Soto a previous 13-year offer worth $350 million. Soto’s reluctance to accept the contract meant the Nats really had no choice but to trade Soto. The timing was either at the deadline or in the offseason.

Soto is batting .246/.408/.485/.894 with 21 home runs and 46 RBI. He’s drawn a National League-high 91 walks this season and helped Washington win the 2019 World Series.

Bell is batting .301/.384/.493/.877 with 14 home runs and 57 RBI.

The trade deadline is 6 p.m. eastern and the Rangers have made just one trade to this point, as they dealt relief pitcher Matt Bush to the Milwaukee Brewers for infielder Mark Mathias and minor-league pitcher Antoine Kelly

Bush did not pitch in Monday’s 7-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Bush, 36, was the No. 1 overall pick of the San Diego Padres in 2004. But, due to off-the-field issues, he never made it to the Majors until he broke in with the Rangers in 2016. For his career, he has a 12-7 record with a 3.36 ERA and 186 strikeouts. Bush threw in 40 games this season, going 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA.

Also on Monday, the Baltimore Orioles traded slugger Trey Mancini to the Houston Astros, part of a three-team traded that ultimately saw the Tampa Bay Rays get Houston’s Jose Siri.

The New York Yankees sent four prospects to the Oakland Athletics for starting pitcher Frankie Montas and reliever Lou Trivino.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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