“No trade” SD residual Soto broke Otani’s record for highest salary, with a projected $33M.
San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto, 25, is on pace to receive the most money ever for a salary-adjustment-eligible player. Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Angels) is on pace to break the record for the most money received by a player this year at $30 million.
Major League Baseball Trade Rumors (MLBTR) on Sunday projected next year’s salaries for the major players eligible for salary arbitration. The salary forecasting system, created by economist Matt Swartz, has produced projections that have been close to actual salaries for the last 13 years.
According to the projections, Soto will make a whopping $33 million next year. That’s the highest salary ever projected for a salary-adjustment-eligible player, 먹튀검증 surpassing the $30 million Ohtani received from the Angels this year.
Soto made his big league debut with the Washington Nationals in 2018 at the age of 20 and showed off his hitting prowess, leading the team to its first World Series title in 2019. After extension talks broke down when he rejected Washington’s 15-year, $440 million offer, he was traded to San Diego in early August.
He played in all 162 games for San Diego this year, batting .275 (156-for-568) with 35 home runs, 109 RBI, 132 walks and 129 strikeouts for a .410 on-base percentage, .519 slugging percentage and .930 OPS. He was a steady centerpiece of an up-and-down San Diego lineup, hitting a franchise record number of home runs in a single season.
Soto, who is a free agent after next season, could be traded this winter. However, San Diego general manager A.J. Preller dismissed trade speculation in his postseason press conference and said the team will try to sign him to an extension.
“We’ll have a conversation with Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, when the offseason starts. “We’ll see what the situation is,” he said. “We have some really key pieces to our team next year. Soto is a big part of our lineup in center field,” he said. The team will need Soto to be competitive again next year.
Still a young 25 years old with top-tier offensive production, Soto, along with Ohtani, are the first two superstars in the majors to receive $500 million mega-contracts. The size of Ohtani’s deal, which will likely be the biggest in free agency this winter, will have some impact on Soto.
In addition to Soto, MLBTR projects that Pete Alonso (New York Mets) will receive $22 million, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays) $20.4 million, Gleyber Torres (New York Yankees) $15.3 million, Corbin Burns (Milwaukee Brewers) $15.1 million, and Kyle Tucker (Houston Astros) $12.6 million.