The Milwaukee Brewers will have some questions about what to do with the roster, and maybe they could try and get outfielder Juan Soto via trade from the San Diego Padres this offseason. Soto has one year remaining of arbitration before being an unrestricted free agent after next season.
Juan Soto, last season with the San Diego Padres, played in all 162 games. He had a .275 batting average with 35 home runs and 109 RBIs, along with 12 stolen bases and five caught stealing attempts. His on-base percentage was .410. This means that he has an excellent eye at the plate.
Soto is only 24 years old, and he has a decade of great baseball left in him. Juan Soto is one of the best young outfielders in the MLB. Milwaukee Brewers general manager Matt Arnold should swing for the fences this offseason and try and trade for him.
It could potentially take this franchise to another level. Soto already won a World Series title as a rookie in 2019 with the Washington Nationals. He was traded from Washington to San Diego during the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline.
Todd Welter of dairylandexpress.com said about the Brewers potentially trying to land Soto this offseason:
“The San Diego Padres would like to lock up the young phenom for a contract extension. The Padres are already locked into long-term, big-money deals with Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Xander Bogaerts. Plus, the Padres showed spending big money does not mean a club will win the World Series. That is why the Padres have not ruled out trading the talented superstar this offseason since this is his last year of arbitration.”
The San Diego Padres finished in third place in the National League West this season with an 82-80 record and missed the playoffs. San Diego made it to the NLCS the season before after upsetting the Los Angeles Dodgers before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in the NLCS.
The Milwaukee Brewers won the National League Central title this season with a 92-70 record. Milwaukee got swept to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Wild Card Round. Arizona just swept the Dodgers out of the playoffs and now will await the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies winner.
Milwaukee Brewers Trying To Get Juan Soto means that they would Have to Give Up Jackson Chourio
In order for the Brewers to get a top-tier caliber player like Juan Soto, they would probably have no choice but to trade top prospect outfielder Jackson Chourio. He is 19 years old and finished the season with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds after playing for most of the 2023 minor league baseball season with the Biloxi Shuckers.
In 128 games played in the minors in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system, he had a .282 batting average with 22 home runs and 91 RBIs, along with 44 stolen bases. Chourio had a .338 on-base percentage throughout the season as well.
Another player that could potentially be involved in this trade is catcher Jeferson Quero. He is the second-best prospect in the Brewers farm system. San Diego had pitching problems this season, but this is a prospect that Milwaukee can have a difficult time parting ways with.
It would already be difficult enough to part ways with Chourio. A pairing of Soto and Christian Yelich in the outfield would be interesting. However, if you can trade those two and right-handed pitcher Jacob Misiorowski in a deal for outfielder Juan Soto, the Milwaukee Brewers should swing for the fences and try to put them over the top in the National League.
