Just over fourteen months ago, the Padres shook the baseball world at the 2022 trade deadline by dealing a package of prospects and young players to the Nationals in exchange for superstar outfielder (alongside first baseman ). The addition of Soto gave San Diego a young, elite talent to replace for the remainder of the season as the club sought its first full-season postseason berth since 2006 before pairing the two up in the outfield in 2023 and beyond. Soto fulfilled his end of the bargain, posting a 131 wRC+ in 228 trips to the plate down the stretch for the Padres before slashing .222/.333/.611 in the NLCS as the club fell to the Phillies in five games last year. He went on to post what has become a typical season by his standards in 2023: the 24-year-old phenom slashed a strong .275/.410/.519 (155 wRC+) while clubbing 35 home runs, recording more walks than strikeouts and playing in all 162 games for the Padres en route to his third consecutive All Star appearance. Unfortunately, the rest of the club was unable to keep up with him this season, as the Padres finished with an 82-80 record, spending most of the season under .500 and never leading the NL West despite lofty preseason expectations. The clubs brutal 2023 campaign seems to be spurring changes for the club going forward, as reports have indicated the club is from this years $255MM figure to around $200MM this offseason. Such a steep cut in payroll, of course, has caused speculation about how the Padres could hope to improve a roster that figures to lose and to free agency this winter. With MLBTRs projecting Soto to make a whopping $33MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility, its easy to see why many around the baseball world expect the club to entertain offers on the superstar this offseason. After all, saving over $30MM on Sotos salary could allow the club to supplement other areas of need on the roster within their newfound payroll constraints, to say nothing of the po sibility that the Soto return could include big league ready pieces who could help supplement the 2024 roster themselves. As talented as Soto is, its at least conceivable that the club could improve for the future while minimizing the hit to their overall competitivene s next season if they make savvy additions to counterbalance the hypothetical lo s of their star slugger. The other side of that argument is simple: a Soto trade would almost a suredly downgrade the 2024 team. Even as the Padres stand to lose Snell and Hader in Tim Hardaway Jersey free agency, the club has several aging players on long-term deals. Players like , , , and especially arent getting any younger, and theres an argument to be made that sacrificing the present for the future to any degree is a mistake given the clubs aging core of expensive stars even as San Diego sports the sports 11th best farm system, . Its also worth noting how the Padres lost in 2023. While their 82-80 record certainly left something to be desired, they posted the eighth-best run differential in baseball and the third-best figure in the National League behind only 100-win juggernauts in Atlanta and LA. The clubs Pythagorean record in 2023 was a far more palatable 92-70, with a similar 91-71 expected record according to . Championships arent won through projected standings, of course, but when looking ahead to 2024 its certainly fair to wonder if a very similar Padres team could achieve much better results with more fortune in extra innings (2-12) and one-run games (10-28). Holding onto Soto wouldnt even nece sarily preclude the club from dealing him later, as the Padres could always trade him at the 2024 deadline if they fall out of contention early in the year. All that said, the dream scenario for Padres fans involves neither the club trading Soto nor him walking in free agency next offseason. Ideally, San Diego would surely prefer to extend their superstar and keep him in the outfield alongside Tatis for the next decade or longer. That may be easier said than done, of course, as Soto infamously a $440MM extension offer from the Nationals prior to his trade to San Diego. The sort of megadeal that would be required to retain Soto figures to be hard to stomach for most clubs, but perhaps especially one like the Padres that, in addition to their desire to cut payroll this offseason, already has over $100MM on the books every year for the rest of the decade. Unlikely as an extension may seem on paper, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has proven time and time again that his front office shouldnt be counted out regarding major trades, free agent signings, and especially extensions if an opportunity to improve the club arises. Preller figures to weigh all these factors and more when deciding an approach regarding Soto this offseason. In his end-of-season pre s conference, Preller that he plans to discu s a po sible extension with Soto during the offseason but nonethele s did not rule out a trade of the young superstar this winter, leaving the door open for San Diego to take a variety of approaches over the next few months. What path do MLBTR readers think Preller and the Padres should take regarding Soto this offseason? They could make every effort to extend him while looking to cut payroll elsewhere, trade him for pieces that could help extend the clubs current window of contention, or simply stick with him through his final year of arbitration and re-evaluate things at the trade deadline next summer. Have your say in the poll below. ( for app users) What Should The Padres Do With Juan Soto? Trade him this offseason. 57.83% (5,371votes) Extend him this offseason and cut payroll elsewhere. 23.68% (2,199votes) Rea se s the situation over the summer. 18.50% (1,718votes) Total Votes: 9,288 Kelly Oubre Jr. Jersey