Scott Boras says Juan Soto’s part of Padres plans in 2024

Scott Boras loves to take center stage at the GM and Winter Meetings and today was his day to start talking about all of his amazing players. One of them is Juan Soto, who isn’t a free agent but is going to be a talking point this winter as the San Diego Padres look to decrease their payroll.

Will Soto stay in San Diego entering his final year before free agency? Boras thinks that’s in the Padres plans:

“[I] met with the Padres. They laid out their plan for next year, which obviously included a lineup that definitely includes Juan Soto,” said Boras, who represents Nick Martinez and Blake Snell as well. “He’s their one .900 OPS player and they’re obviously looking for more left-handed bats rather than less.”

Soto finished 2023 with a career-high 35 home runs but still didn’t have that 2021 type year that some Padres fans were expecting out of him. AJ Preller shouldn’t trade him though just so he can get something back before losing him in free agency.

Soto in a walk year is someone a team trying to win should want on their team. And should the Padres be trying to win now? You bet they should be.

The 25-year-old is expected to make over $30 million in his final year of arbitration.