Boston Red Sox Rumors: Juan Soto trade would shake up the MLB

The Boston Red Sox are going to get a much needed rest with the upcoming All-Star break. After a torrid turnaround in May and June, the Sox have lost 12 of their past 18 games, most of which have come up against American League East rivals.

Injuries have battered Boston as of late, although they are finally beginning to get healthy. Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, and Garrett Whitlock have all returned over the past week, and there figure to be more guys that will join them shortly after the break.

But there are also areas on this roster that need to be addressed if Boston wants to come out hot to start the second half of the season, and that’s what the trade deadline is for. They could add some depth pieces to solidify their current core group, which seems to be the likely course of action. Or, the front office could blow things up and try to pull off a blockbuster trade for Washington Nationals star Juan Soto.

The Boston Red Sox have the assets to pull off a trade for Juan Soto

In case you missed it today, reports came out that Soto recently turned down a massive 15 year, $440 million deal from the Nationals. That has pushed Washington to pursue trades for Soto at the trade deadline, as they believe they will not be able to reach a deal with their young star any time soon. This has put the rest of the league on high alert.

For those not familiar with Soto, he’s one of baseball’s brightest young stars who helped lead the Nationals to a World Series title back in 2019 when he was just 20 years old. Soto is an absolute force at the plate, and is still just 23 years old. He hasn’t even hit his prime, but he’s still managed to cement himself as one of the best hitters in the game right now.

Soto is currently experiencing a bit of a down year (at least by his standards), as he’s hitting .247 with 19 home runs and 42 RBIs. He still earned his second career All-Star selection, but Soto’s batting average has dropped nearly 70 points from what it was last season (.313).

Still, it’s rare to see a player of Soto’s caliber available for trade. He’s easily one of the best players in the game, and he’s just 23 years old. Trading for him is going to require a mammoth package, and not many teams are going to be able to afford him.

One of the teams that probably could afford him, though, are our Boston Red Sox. Boston has a combination of farm talent and established players that may stick out to Washington and persuade them to bite on a deal. But would this be something the Sox would even consider?

To put it simply, the answer is yes. Anytime a player of Soto’s caliber becomes available, you have to do your due diligence. His bat fits in anyone’s lineup, plus Boston has been piecing together their outfield all season long; I’m sure we’ve all had enough of Jackie Bradley Jr. as an everyday player at this point, right?

Who could the Boston Red Sox trade for Juan Soto?

Soto is obviously a desirable player, but how would Boston get him? It starts with a star player currently on the roster. Boston’s two most valuable trade assets are going to be Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts, and given the front office’s inability to reach long-term extensions with either player, it’s not entirely out of the picture to see Chaim Bloom swinging a deal for Soto with one of these guys as the centerpiece of a package going to Washington.

Now that’s not to say that’s what should happen. Based on his production this season, Devers has to be considered untouchable. He’s outproducing Soto this season (.326, 21 HR, 54 RBI), and still has another year left on his current deal. It’s a bit concerning that Boston hasn’t signed Devers to a long-term deal yet, but there’s still time to fix that.

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Trading Bogaerts also just doesn’t seem like good business. He’s been with the Sox for his entire career, and continues to play at an incredibly high level. There’s a decent chance he’s playing his last season in Boston, but it feels like the front office is going to make a push to re-sign him at some point this upcoming offseason.

There is, however, a small pool of players that Bogaerts shouldn’t be considered off the table for in any potential deal, and Soto is on that list. This could be the perfect chance for Bloom and the front office to get something in return for Bogaerts while they can. Building a trade package around him for Soto isn’t the worst idea for either franchise, truthfully speaking.

For the Boston Red Sox, it’s a chance to not get burned by Bogaerts if he were to walk in free agency. They already signed Trevor Story to a long-term deal, and extending Devers is more pressing than re-signing Bogaerts. There’s also the team’s top prospect, Marcelo Mayer, making his way up the minors, and he could be major-league ready sooner rather than later.

For Washington, they get rid of Soto, who apparantly doesn’t want to be there for the next 15 years, while also getting a star in his prime in Bogaerts, who they could potentially build around. Bogaerts is still just 29, and could be extended for much cheaper than Soto. Even if they don’t want to keep him and go full rebuild mode, they could probably flip him to another team at the trade deadline if they wanted to.

Trading Bogaerts would hurt, and there aren’t many scenarios where I could see it being a possibility. This is one of them though. It would require a couple of other highly rated prospects being thrown in too, and while Boston’s farm system is iffy at best, they could probably make it happen.

Soto would fit seamlessly into Boston’s outfield, and give them a one of the best duos in the league in Devers and Soto mashing together for the foreseeable future. It may be a longshot, but if Bloom wants to flip the MLB on its head, he could pull off a massive deal for Soto and change the direction of Boston Red Sox franchise.