Report: Cards viewed as front-runner for Soto

Never a team to shy away from making a big trade, could the St. Louis Cardinals be poised to make a move for Juan Soto?

The New York Post's Jon Heyman reports the team is being viewed by rivals as a front-runner for the Washington Nationals' superstar outfielder.

In recent years, the Cardinals have landed the likes of Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt in significant trades and Heyman notes a National League executive points to the “good farm system" in place that could allow for a run at Soto.

On top of the minors, the club has a number of MLB-ready players that could entice the Nationals including Burnaby, BC-born outfielder Tyler O'Neill, Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson.

Heyman notes that a potential Cardinals package could be good enough to dissuade the Nationals from offloading the remaining two years and $59 million on left-handed starter Patrick Corbin's deal as part of the Soto trade.

Whether or not the Nationals hope to get a deal done ahead of the August 2 trade deadline remains to be seen, but formal offers for Soto are expected to arrive in the near future.

A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the 23-year-old Soto is in his fifth major-league season.

A two-time All-Star, Soto is batting .245 with 20 home runs, 43 runs batted in and an OPS of .886 in 94 games this season.

He reportedly turned down a 15-year, $440 million extension offer from the Nationals earlier this month.