The San Diego Padres are officially winners of the 2022 MLB trade deadline. At least, they are for the moment. Only time will tell if they truly are the victors, but they sure did make a splash on Tuesday by landing Juan Soto in a mammoth deal with the Washington Nationals. The former Nats star had made it clear he would not resign with the capital club, turning down a massive contract offer for nearly $450 million, so the team pivoted in their plans by shipping Soto (and Josh Bell) in exchange for several players, some of which are highly-touted prospects.
Eric Hosmer was to be included in the original deal, but he did not waive his no-trade clause to play for Washington, so he was later sent to Boston instead as they cleared room for Soto and Bell. The deal is huge for San Diego, and it has experts believing they are a real contender for the World Series now that Soto joins a lineup that already had Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis, Jr. in it. The Padres might have ‘won’ the deadline, but they weren’t the only team that made moves to improve. The Philadelphia Phillies brought in Noah Syndegaard from the Los Angeles Angels (among others) as they seek to shore up their pitching as they chase a Wild Card spot in the NL East. The New York Yankees also stayed busy, bringing in Harrison Bader and sending struggling Joey Gallo elsewhere. The Mets, meanwhile, got inconsistent but powerful Darin Ruf from the Giants as they try to hold onto top spot in the NL East down the stretch.
