MLB Rumors: Padres 'More Likely' to Trade Juan Soto at Deadline Instead of Offseason

All-Star outfielder Juan Soto, who is heading into the final season of his current contract, may remain with San Diego Padres for the start of the 2024 season.

Although the Padres "have made it clear" they will listen to offers for Soto this winter, it is "more likely" the team will wait until next July to decide, according to The Athletic's Jim Bowden.

By then, the Padres will have a better understanding of their postseason odds.

Soto is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $33 million through arbitration next season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2025. The Padres and Soto currently "don't appear close to a deal" on an extension, per Bowden.

Soto led the NL with 132 walks in 2023 on his way to a team-best .410 on-base percentage and the third All-Star season of his career.

That campaign wasn't enough to get the Padres postseason redemption.

After the Padres' 2022 NLCS loss to the Philadelphia Phillies ended the team's deepest playoff run since 1998, San Diego became an early favorite to win the NL West in 2023. Instead, the Padres sat at a middling 55-56 record at the deadline.

That still didn't stop them from acting as buyers.

Pending free agents like pitchers Blake Snell and Josh Hader stayed in San Diego, and the Padres dealt prospects for depth pieces.

Ultimately, despite a late push including a 19-7 record in September, the Padres missed the postseason altogether. As a result, although both have shown interest in returning to the Padres, Cy Young favorite Snell and All-Star Hader will both hit the free-agent market.

The Padres were willing to take that risk even as a team hovering around .500. Will San Diego make a similar gamble with Soto if the team finds itself in a playoff spot as the 2024 trade deadline approaches?

Padres general manager A.J. Preller said in October that the Padres' "first path" is to work out an extension with Soto. Without that guarantee, the decision to stick with him past the 2024 deadline could mean losing a star player for nothing. The cost Soto would command in free agency is likely to be exorbitant, as the 25-year-old previously rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract offered by the Washington Nationals.

The Padres' decision could ultimately depend on what offers they get for Soto this offseason. According to Bowden, the team is willing to listen.