The days leading up to the MLB trade deadline could become a must-watch now that Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto reportedly is on the trade block.
On Saturday, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported, citing sources, that the 23-year-old recently turned down a 15-year, $440 million proposal from the Nationals, which would have made Soto the highest-paid player in baseball history.
If the Giants want to get involved in the Soto sweepstakes, ESPN’s simulator advises them to do so, as adding the Washington slugger would see their playoff and World Series odds receive a boost.
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San Francisco currently sits on the outside looking in as they sit 1.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot. Should the Giants get in the mix for Soto and land him, they would go from ESPN's “could be” category to the “should be” in the playoffs.
Furthermore, the model provided by ESPN shows that of all the teams on the playoff bubble, the Giants have the most significant increase in their odds of reaching the postseason from adding Soto to their lineup.
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Gabe Kapler’s team would see their total win prediction at 91.3 with the young star in their lineup for the second half of the season. San Francisco could see its chances of reaching playoffs shoot up to 82 percent, and their World Series chances would go up to 6.6 percent.
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Any potential package the Giants can put together for Soto will include the team’s top two prospects in shortstop Marco Luciano and left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison.
It will be interesting to see if the organization wants to swing for the fences and land a player who would be the face of the franchise for years to come.