JUAN SOTO, JOSH BELL DEALT TO SAN DIEGO IN BLOCKBUSTER DEAL

MLB / Baseball

Written by Gus Cousins

The trade that everybody thought might happen evidently has, with talks all morning of a potential blockbuster culminating in an eight-player swap.

According to multiple sources, the Washington Nationals have traded OF Juan Soto and 1B Josh Bell to the San Diego Padres in exchange for 1B Luke Voit, LHP Mackenzie Gore, SS CJ Abrams, OF Robert Hassell, OF James Wood, and RHP Jarlin Susana.

Source (Background photos): Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

For a time, 1B Eric Hosmer was expected to be shipped to Washington as well although his no-trade clause put an end to that iteration of the trade - since being removed, Hosmer has been shipped to the Boston Red Sox.

In what may be the largest exchange of prospect talent ever seen, the Nationals receive San Diego’s #1, #3, and #14 prospects as well as 21-year-old Abrams and 23-year-old Gore. Both Abrams and Gore were formerly on the Padres Top-30 list but graduated earlier this year. Ex-Yankee Luke Voit will find himself with a decent chunk of playing time at first base on a rebuilding Nationals squad, and while not producing as he has in years past he still provides some much-needed power to an underwhelming Washington lineup.

On the flip side, San Diego continues to load up for a massive playoff run. Soto - who’s only 23 - is a two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, runner-up for Rookie of the Year in 2018, and was top-10 in MVP voting in both 2019 and 2020. It’s truly unprecedented, as Padres’ GM AJ Preller pulls in yet another otherworldly talent. The Padres also retain 31-year-old 1B Josh Bell, who’s put together quite a nice season so far slashing .301/.384/.493 with 14 homers and 57 RBIs. Bell will certainly have his presence felt quite a bit for the rest of the season too as he takes over a good chunk of San Diego’s first base duties.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time that San Diego has tried to get a superstar from Washington at the deadline - in 2021, rumours were circulating that then-Nats Ace Max Scherzer was being moved to San Diego. That deal seemingly fell apart though and ended with Scherzer being dealt to Preller’s division rival Dodgers. The second time’s the charm it seems, as Juan Soto will join the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado in an extremely deep Padres lineup.

More to come, as the deadline draws nearer…