A New York Yankees insider claims there is a realistic route to a dream scenario that sees the team finally move Giancarlo Stanton and land Juan Soto in one fell swoop, however, a couple of key factors would need to be overcome to make the unthinkable possible.
It will be fascinating to see how the Yankees approach this offseason. The roster clearly could use some improvements after a very disappointing showing in 2023 as they finished near the bottom of the American League East standings with an 82-80 record. However, all signs are that the organization would like to be a bit more financially conservative this winter.
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The organization has several massive contracts on its payroll heading into 2024 but the ones they would be open to offloading, like the five years left on Giancarlo Stanton’s contract, are nearly impossible to move. The organization is already paying luxury taxes and controlling owner Hal Steinbrenner reportedly does not want to get any closer to the next tax threshold in the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
However, to get back to being a contender next season Steinbrenner may need to spend money to get more wins, and that theory was at the heart of a new column from New York Post MLB insider Joel Sherman.
The organization has been linked to a trade for San Diego Padres star Juan Soto but a trade would not be easy to make for the Yankees or any team. Padres General Manager AJ Preller gave up a huge haul of prospects to land the outfielder last year and there are many around the league who believe that is why he won’t trade him this winter as rumors have suggested.
However, the reason there have been rumblings of a potential move is over reports that the team would like to cut at least $50 million off the books for next season. That could benefit New York’s chances according to Sherman.
Could New York Yankees temp San Diego Padres into a Juan Soto trade by swapping bad contracts?
The league insider claimed that there is a dream scenario where the Yankees could move Stanton to San Diego and get Soto — a player who perfectly addresses several needs — back in return. In a potential deal that would not require NY to give up all of their best prospects for a player headed to free agency after next season, Sherman suggests the Yankees being open to taking on the $78 million left on Yu Darvish’s contract, the $80 million on Jake Cronenworth’s, and the $5 million owed to Matt Carpenter could entice San Diego.
“Taking on Stanton plus Yankees prospects for Soto, Cronenworth, and Darvish would save San Diego more than $90 million overall,” Sherman wrote.
The Padres have long been considered a small-market club until recently. After a disappointing season of their own in 2023, it seems that San Diego is trying to get closer to the type of spending they have done in the past.
Sherman does suggest that it is far from a guarantee that Stanton would waive his no-trade clause to go to San Diego despite being a Southern California native. Darvish may not want to go to New York, and it’s unclear if Steinbrenner would want to add that much payroll. But it is a realistic route to the New York Yankees getting what they need and moving a player the fanbase has grown tired of during his tenure with the organization.
