Cardinal’s trade package is better than the Padres

The St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals are apparently the only three teams left in the Juan Soto Sweepstakes. One of the trade packs is better than the others.

It seems increasingly likely that the Washington Nationals will trade Juan Soto beforehand Trading closes on Tuesday. Now all they have to do is see which trade pack they like best. Corresponding Jim Bowden of The Athletic and CBS Sportsthe St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals are the three teams who are the finalists for Soto, but it seems clear who the front runners are.

According to Bowden, the Cardinals have offered a package that includes more young top league talent. The Padres have offered more prospects in their deal. The Dodgers appear to be in a solid third place.

Now the Nationals have to decide which deal they prefer, but there should be a clear winner.

The Cardinals have the better trade offer for the Nationals to get Juan Soto so far

With prospects, they might be the best prospects in esports… but they are just that: prospects. The Padres are offering more of the same to the Nationals for Juan Soto. The Cardinals offer more young MLB talent. While the players may not be as good as Soto, at least they’ve been in the big leagues and could now contribute to the Nationals.

For the Cardinals, these are likely players like infielder Nolan Gorman, starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore, one of their outfielders (Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Carlson, or Harrison Bader), and a few prospects.

If the Nationals go for the Cardinals deal, they’ll instantly become a better MLB team. The Nationals are the worst team in baseball as they have a 35-68 record. If they strike a deal with a lot of prospects, they might not run for another five seasons, if the prospects are even worth it.

With a deal that has MLB players and/or MLB-ready players, they could easily be contenders in 2024 or 2025, pushing up their window of contention and leaving prospects less to chance.

The Padres may need to increase their supply as they need Soto more given their outfield. The Cardinals need them to start more than one outfielder, so if push comes to shove in the next 48 hours, something has to give way…or the Nats might not trade Soto at all.