"Do you want to blow up the minor system for Juan Soto" - Former San Francisco Giants 2B turned sportscaster considers Juan Soto trade to be not worth the cost
The MLB trade deadline is fast approaching, yet there is no end in sight for the Juan Soto saga. The Washington Nationals sensation is by far the biggest name on the trading block this summer.
Soto has been sought after by a dozen teams, one of them being the San Francisco Giants. The Home Run Derby winner has recorded .426 OBP, .965 OPS and 118 home runs over five seasons in the Majors.
Will Juan Soto be traded?
@Ken_Rosenthal has the latest: https://t.co/88RFV07gcj
His incredible plate discipline, coupled with his starpower, would be a fantastic fit for the Giants. Soto’s arrival will go a long way for the Giants in helping them bridge the gap to the Dodgers.
Whoever wins the race for Soto will be paying a king’s ransom for his services. The team that closes the deal will likely need to give up four to five of their top prospects and/or young big-leaguers. Is such a compromise reasonable for just one player? Former Giants 2B-turned-sportscaster Duane Kuiper doesn’t think so.
"I really have mixed emotions. I don't think any team certainly wouldn't want to have him right in the middle of their lineup, but then again you have to ask, at what cost? We've really spent the last two, three years talking about and fantasizing about the minor league system that the Giants have right now, and they've got three or four guys that are really coveted by us because we've been following them now for that amount of time.” - Duane Kuiper
From a Giants perspective, acquiring Soto would mean giving up the likes of shortstop Marco Luciano, left-hander Kyle Harrison, outfielder Luis Matos, and others. Logan Webb’s name may also be floated at the negotiating table.
Should the San Francisco Giants go all out for Juan Soto?
Taking everything into consideration, the Giants are in a position to put together a lucrative trade package for Juan Soto. However, Kuiper strongly believes that the risk is not worth the reward.
"Those are exactly the guys that the Nationals would want, so you have to ask yourself, do you want to blow up the minor system for Juan Soto, and a lot of people would say absolutely yes. But I'm on the other line that says I've invested so much time and thought in watching these young prospects that I really don't want to see them excel in another uniform." - Duane Kuiper
Both Luciano and Harrison are among the top 25 prospects in baseball today. They have both enjoyed decorated minor league careers. Luciano is doing well in High-A. Harrison is turning heads in Double-A to the degree that he is linked with a Triple-A promotion to the Sacramento River Cats next year.
Randy Winn believes the Giants have enough prospects to make a trade for Juan Soto https://t.co/E4bpeJKgtY
However, let’s not forget that very few players can achieve what Juan Soto has done by the age of 23. For premium talent, you need to pay a premium price. That’s just the nature of the market.