Nats, Padres, Yankees Have Something In Common: Transitioning From Juan Soto

The Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres will always be connected by a historic trade that sent superstar outfielder Juan Soto to the West Coast. But the Padres and New York Yankees will also be connected by a Soto trade. And the Yankees and New York Mets will always be connected by Soto leaving the former for the latter after just one season.

What do the Nationals, Padres and Yankees all have in common, outside of previously having Soto in their dugout? Successfully transitioning from him.

Here's how all three teams turned the page on Soto.

The Nationals acquired three former top-10 MLB draft picks from the Padres for Soto. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

The Nationals were at the bottom of the pack and couldn't find common ground on an extension with Soto during the 2022 season. With Soto two-and-a-half years away from free agency, Washington made the bold choice to trade the young star for a king's ransom.

San Diego received: OF Juan Soto, 1B Josh Bell
Washington received: SS CJ Abrams, OF Robert Hassell III, LHP MacKenzie Gore, OF James Wood, RHP Jarlin Susana, 1B Luke Voit

To be clear, the Nationals recently lost 11 consecutive games and look poised to post a losing record for a sixth consecutive season since winning the 2019 World Series. The perpetual struggle for their rebuild to make tangible progress in the win column is alarming. But if there's one thing the Nationals have gotten right over the past four years, ironically, it's trading Soto.

The trade package that Washington received for Soto included three former top-10 overall draft picks (Gore, Abrams and Hassell), a former second-round pick (Wood) and a young right-handed starting pitcher whose fastball clocks triple digits (Susana).

Wood, who made