3 Mets players the Padres would have no interest adding in a Juan Soto trade

3) Starling Marte or mostly any other expensive major leaguer

Let’s first thank the inspiration for this post and give a shout out to Carlos Baerga who took an awful trade proposal and shared it on Instagram.

Included in this mock trade for Soto is Starling Marte. What use would the Padres have for him? It’s understandable that they’d look to replace Soto on the roster. Marte’s contract would probably mean the Mets are paying a large portion if not all of it. The dire straits the Padres are in right now don’t make them a landing spot for any new bad deals. Without top-level prospects to justify taking on a player such as Marte, this deal makes very little sense.

The Mets don’t have too many other expensive major leaguers to conceivably throw in a deal for Soto. They’re either players the Mets shouldn’t be trading or aren’t really fits for the Padres. The whole idea of moving Soto in the first place is to clear out some salary space. You don’t do this by taking on other contracts along the way.

If your mock trade includes more than prospects or affordable young major leaguers, think again. San Diego may be motivated to trade Soto this offseason. It’s not going to happen with someone like Marte involved.