Juan Soto not expected to be open to contract extension with the team that trades for him, per MLB AnalystÂ
San Diego Padres star hitter Juan Soto is in the final year of his arbitration and is set to earn upwards of $27 million, according to Spotrac. With that in mind, many are expecting the Padres to trade the All-Star hitter ahead of the 2024 season.
However, whichever team trades for Juan Soto, that club will be unsure of the former World Series champion's long-term services. According to Ken Rosenthal, Soto is not expected to be open to contract extensions with the team that trades for him:
"The one point that I wanted to make is regarding extension, say the Yankees trade for him is that Soto is represented by Scott Boras and Scott Boras's clients generally do not sign extensions, he encourages them to go to open market and establish your value there," Rosenthal said on Foul Territory. "That is almost the case with his clients. There are exceptions but I don't expect Soto to be one of them.
"He's not going to sign, in my opinion," Rosenthal added. "If the Yankees throw $500 million at him, ok, maybe, but if you got $500 million without the free agency, why not just wait for free agency? So if you are trading for Juan Soto, you are getting him for one year."
Rosenthal seems to be right in his assessment, and it feels that whoever trades for Juan Soto should not expect any false hopes in contract extensions.
Juan Soto's 2023 stats
Even though the Padres didn't make it out of the NL West, finishing third with 82-80, Soto's stats were right where they were expected. The 25-year-old earned the All-Star selection and also won the Silver Slugger award to top it off.
He played in all 162 games, contributing with a batting average of .275, 35 homers, 109 RBIs and an MLB-leading 132 walks.
He won the World Series as part of the Washington Nationals in 2019 and has ever since been a constant presence in the All-Star field. It remains to be seen in which team he suits up for next season.