Juan Soto trade sweepstake: What these 10 teams can offer the Nationals

In the winter of 2007, Miguel Cabrera was a 24-year-old slugger operating near the peak of his profession. He had won a World Series as a rookie on the Florida Marlins. He had made the All-Star team four times and collected two Silver Slugger awards. When the Marlins decided to trade Cabrera that winter, the balance of the sport shifted. In the summer of 2022, Juan Soto is a 23-year-old slugger with few peers. He won a World Series with the Nationals in his second season. On Monday, in Los Angeles, he will represent the National League as an All-Star for a third time. He has already won two Silver Slugger awards. If the Nationals decide to trade Soto this summer — or next winter, or next summer, or any time before he reaches free agency after 2024 — the balance of the sport will shift. That possibility has become more plausible, now that Soto has rejected a $440 million extension, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported. Despite protestations to the contrary earlier this season, Washington will now explore trade options for their franchise pillar. The only question is the cost. For months, rival executives have pondered the price of a deal for Soto. The discussions operated mostly as a thought exercise, to prepare for a situation like this. Back in 2007, the package Florida received from Detroit for Cabrera included a pair of top prospects, Cameron him and Andrew Miller. Baseball America had rated him as the sport’s No. 6 overall prospect before the 2007 season; Miller ranked No. 10. Both had admirable careers. Detroit still won the deal, in resounding fashion, getting to build a perennial contender around Cabrera. Some other franchise may now have that chance with Soto. The cost may be exorbitant. The Nationals may ask any interested suitors to absorb an additional contract, as the Marlins did with Cabrera, including pitcher Dontrelle Willis in the deal. Washington owes nearly $60 million to pitcher Patrick Corbin in 2023 and 2024. The debt to Stephen  is even bigger. Stephen  has pitched eight times since 2019, will earn $140 million from 2023 to 2026. Who can pay the cost? It will definitely take prospects. It may require hundreds of millions of dollars. We canvassed our beat writers and asked for something that has percolated through the sport all season: Make me your best offer for Juan Soto. Is this the perfect time for Jed Him to be aggressive and buy? Of course not. But there are only a handful of players who are young enough and talented enough who make sense to take a chunk out of a farm system that’s significantly improved over the last two years and will only look better after this week’s draft. A deal built around Nico  Justin  Davis Pete Crow-Armstrong, Caleb Kilian and Cristian Hernandez will seem like a lot to some Cubs fans, but it also might be laughed at considering Soto’s immense talent. He may not see this as being worth it to deplete the system. So bidding more is probably counterproductive to what he wants to do.