0 of 3
Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
The best teams in Major League Baseball are making one final push to improve their rosters ahead of the race to the postseason.
The MLB trade deadline in Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET. All eyes at the moment are on a potential Juan Soto deal.
The outfielder declined a massive contract offer from the Washington Nationals at the start of July and has been on the trade market ever since.
Soto is the most sought-after player on the trade market, but there is no guarantee he will be on the move because of the large haul of players the Nationals expect in return.
As of Sunday morning, two major deals have been completed. The Seattle Mariners landed Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds, and the New York Yankees acquired Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals.
Frankie Montas and Willson Contreras are among the big names expected to be dealt before the deadline.
The normal players, like the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, will be active, but as we saw with Seattle’s trade for Castillo, other contenders will make moves before the deadline to bolster their playoff chances.
1 of 3
Rich Schultz/Getty Images
The New York Yankees struck first by acquiring Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for three prospects.
The Seattle Mariners made the second major move of the trade season by landing Luis Castillo on Friday night from the Cincinnati Reds.
Cincinnati landed four prospects in return, including Seattle’s No. 1 prospect, Noelvi Marte.
The New York Mets made two minor trades to improve their left-handed hitting. They landed Tyler Naquin from the Reds and Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Three smaller deals were completed Saturday. The Los Angeles Dodgers swapped outfielder Zack McKinstry for reliever Chris Martin with the Chicago Cubs; the Philadelphia Phillies landed shortstop Edmundo Sosa from the St. Louis Cardinals; and the Tampa Bay Rays acquired outfielder David Peralta from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
2 of 3
The Washington Post
Juan Soto has not been traded yet, but negotiations for him will likely intensify in the next 48 hours.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported on Saturday that the San Diego Padres were willing to include C.J. Abrams, Robert Hassell and Adrian Morejon, three of their best young players in the organization, in trade talks for the Washington Nationals outfielder.
The St. Louis Cardinals, who are playing the Nationals this weekend, have been in contract with the NL East side about Soto, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Goold also noted in his reporting that the Cardinals are looking to acquire a starting pitcher. They have a larger need in their rotation with Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz on the injured list.
The San Francisco Giants could enter the market as a seller, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported on Saturday, Sherman said anyone outside of Logan Webb could be open for deals.
San Francisco is not confirmed as a seller yet, but Carlos Rodon and Joc Pederson would be coveted on the trade market. Pederson was one of a few key trade acquisitions at last year’s trade deadline that helped the Atlanta Braves win the World Series.
As for Frankie Montas, the New York Yankees have made him their No. 1 target, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
The Yankees are likely out of the Soto sweepstakes and they could use their top prospects to land Montas. New York needs to improve its rotation to compete with the Houston Astros, who have six quality starters on the active roster and a seventh returning soon in Lance McCullers Jr.
3 of 3
Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images
Yankees Land Frankie Montas
The Yankees appear to be the best suitor for Frankie Montas.
They can send one of their top prospects as the headliner of a package back to the Oakland Athletics. Oswald Peraza, the No. 36 overall prospect in baseball, could be the focal point of the negotiations.
New York needs to add to its rotation of Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes Jr. Jordan Montgomery had a rough outing in his last start, Jameson Taillon has been okay this season and Luis Severino is on the injured list.
The Houston Astros have a deeper rotation than the Yankees and they are better equipped to win a potential seven-game ALCS with their arms.
The potential acquisition of Montas allows the Yankees to level the playing field a bit more. They already upgraded their lineup by adding Andrew Benintendi, which may open up the possibility for Joey Gallo to get dealt.
Padres Make Best Offer For Juan Soto
The San Diego Padres have a recent history of swinging big at the trade deadline.
In 2020, the Padres landed Mike Clevinger from Cleveland in an eight-player deal. Josh Naylor and Cal Quantrill were among the current big leaguers that were moved in that trade.
San Diego still has a loaded prospect chest to go after Juan Soto and potentially land him before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
C.J. Abrams would have to be the centerpiece of the package from a practical standpoint. The Padres would not have a spot on the field for Abrams if Soto joined the team and Fernando Tatis Jr. returns from injury.
Adrian Morejon is the best pitching prospect the Padres can send to Washington now that Mackenzie Gore is on the injured list. Former first-round pick Robert Hassell III could round out a solid core of three players going back to Washington.
San Diego does not have other glaring needs, like St. Louis does, and general manager A.J. Preller has a reputation for being aggressive in the trade market.
If St. Louis did not need a top-tier starter, it could have gone all in on the Soto trade talks, but that may limit it from making the best available offer.
There is still no guarantee that Soto gets dealt, but if it does happen, San Diego has the best offer to give Washington.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
