*Photo from SFGATE*
This right here is the blockbuster to end all blockbusters. The San Diego Padres have acquired OF Juan Soto and 1B Eric Hosmer from the Washington Nationals in exchange for 1B Luke Voit, LHP MacKenzie Gore, SS/2B CJ Abrams, RHP Jarlin Susana, and OF's James Wood and Robert Hassell III, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
The deal is just another in a series of big moves for the Padres and president of baseball operations AJ Preller, who acquired LHP Josh Hader from the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, and now swings his biggest trade, landing one of baseball's best players in Soto, while also getting Bell to make an already good lineup even better. This trade is also one of the most monumental in baseball's memory.
Just how good is Soto? In 2019, his age 20 season, he had a .949 OPS and .548 slugging percentage, helping the Nationals win the World Series just days after his 21st birthday. He won the NL batting title in 2020 with a .351 batting average, also recording a stellar 1.185 OPS. He's also made two All Star teams in his career, and he's only 23 years old. He also has two silver slugger awards, and was second in the NL last year with a 7.1 WAR in his age 22 season.
So far for the Nationals this season, Soto is once again having a brilliant season, hitting for a .246 batting average with a .485 slugging percentage and .894 OPS, mashing 21 home runs to go with 46 RBI's in 101 games. Soto also made his second NL All Star team this year, also making it in 2021.
Already, in his young career, Soto has a World Series championship, winning in 2019 with the Nationals. Soto has a career .291 batting average with a .538 slugging percentage and .966 OPS, hitting 119 home runs and driving in 358 runs in 565 regular season games. He has a .277 batting average with 5 home runs and 14 RBI's in 17 playoff games. Simply put, he's truly elite, and he's only 23.
Also coming to the Padres is Bell, who will instantly become the starting first baseman. So far this season, Bell has authored a .301 batting average with a .877 OPS, hitting 14 home runs to go with 57 RBI's in 103 games. Bell previously made the All Star game in 2019 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Across Bell's 7 MLB seasons, split between the Pirates and Nationals, he has a .266 batting average with a .471 slugging percentage and .824 OPS, mashing 127 home runs and driving in 454 runs, playing in 799 regular season games.
One major league piece coming back to Washington is Voit, who is a slugger who can fill the void Bell left at first base. With the Padres this season, Voit has a .225 batting average with a .733 OPS, hitting 13 home runs with 48 RBI's in 82 games, serving primarily as the DH.
Another part of the return is Gore, once a top prospect in the Padres system. In his rookie season this year, Gore has a 4-4 record with a 4.50 ERA and 1.47 WHIP, fanning 72 hitters across 70 innings pitched, making 13 starts and 3 relief appearances for the Padres. He's allowing less than one home run per nine innings, and is averaging 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
One other piece is Abrams, a middle infielder who was previously the number one prospect in the Padres system. This season, his rookie year, Abrams has a .232 batting average with a .605 OPS, hitting two home runs to go with 11 RBI's in 46 games, mostly playing behind Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth.
Coming back to the Nationals is Hassell, who is the number one prospect in the Padres system and 21st in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. With High A Fort Wayne this season, Hassell has a .299 batting average with a .846 OPS, hitting 10 home runs and driving in 55 runs in 75 games, adding 20 stolen bases.
Wood is also coming to the Nationals as the 3rd ranked prospect in the Padres system, and 88th in all of baseball. With Low A Lake Elsinore this season, Wood has a .337 batting average with a 1.054 OPS, adding 10 home runs, 45 RBI's, and 15 stolen bases in 50 games.
The final piece to the trade is Susana, who is the 14th ranked prospect in the Padres system. In his first professional season with the ACL Padres, Susana has a 0-0 record with a 2.45 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, throwing 29 1/3 innings in 7 starts and one relief appearance.
So, to quickly wrap things up, Soto and Bell join forces with superstars Fernando Tatis Jr and Manny Machado in San Diego, quickly making them one of the best lineups in the league. Voit will become the starting first baseman in Washington, with Gore and Abrams likely staying in the majors as well. Hassell, Wood, and Susana will be assigned to different minor league levels.
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