Padres Emerge as Favorite for Top Trade Deadline Candidate

This year's MLB trade deadline is just over a week away and one name a large chunk of rumors have focused on is Juan Soto. Every contender under the sun is going to do what they can to land the Washington Nationals' superstar, however, one team has reportedly separated itself from the pack as the favored destination.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports that the San Diego Padres are now the favorites to land Soto ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline. One source close to Rosenthal believes that the Padres are "as likely as the other 28 teams combined" to acquire the franchise talent.

Padres-Soto Trade Rumors

One thing that already ties Soto to the Padres is general manager A.J. Preller. Three years ago, Preller tried to sign Soto as an amateur, so the interest is clearly there. With how intense the NL West can be, now is the perfect time for San Diego's GM to bring in the top reinforcements.

Soto is a game-changer that can help take the Padres to the next level. The two-time Silver Slugger and current Home Run Derby champion has 118 HRs and 355 RBIs in 558 career games, leading the Majors with 455 walks during that span. He also boasts an impressive .297/.448/543.

The big question comes down to whether or not the Padres have the pieces to bring Soto in. Baseball insider David Adler seems to think they do as of last week, saying that San Diego could package big-league players like C.J. Abrams and MacKenzie Gore with No. 23-ranked MLB prospect Robert Hassell III to get the job done.

More pieces will be needed than that trade for the Nationals' superstar, but the Padres clearly have a good foundation to at least entice Washington. Only time will tell if San Diego's offer is better than whatever the rest of the teams bring to the table.

Padres World Series Odds

The Padres are in the thick of FanDuel Sportsbook's 2022 World Series odds list and acquiring Soto would certainly help separate them from the competition. For now, San Diego has +2800 odds (No. 8) to win this fall's championship.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.