What would the Mets have had to trade for Juan Soto?

The New York Mets were interested in Juan Soto, however it was always viewed as a long shot. Soto, along with teammate Josh Bell, has been traded to the San Diego Padres in a historic deal.

The Nationals received starter Mackenzie Gore, along with prospects C.J. Abrams, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, and Jarlin Susana. While this is a substantial amount of young talent, it doesn’t feel like enough for the generational talent of Soto, along with the talent of Bell.

So what would the Mets equivalent to this trade be? 

Gore and Abrams are not considered prospects anymore, since they’ve been playing in San Diego for most of the season. Hassell III is their #1 prospect, Wood is their #3 prospect, and Susana is their #14 prospect.

If the Mets were in this situation, it would’ve started with Francisco Alvarez. He’s the #1 prospect not only in the Mets’ system, but also in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. The Nationals already have a good young catcher in Keibert Ruiz, but they could either platoon Alvarez with him or have him DH.

The next piece would likely be #2 prospect Brett Baty. He would be roughly the equivalent of CJ Abrams, just without the few weeks of MLB service time. Obviously the Nationals are looking to stockpile young talent, and he’d be their third baseman of the future.

Number 3 prospect Ronny Mauricio would likely be the next piece involved. Based on how the Mets have handled his development, he doesn’t have a future in Queens, so it makes sense to trade him. However, the Nats already have prospect Brady House at shortstop, so one of them would need to move to second base, but that would be the Nationals’ problem to figure out. 

Robert Dominguez would’ve been the last prospect involved. He’s the closest pitching prospect the Mets have to Susana. Dominguez is the #18 in the Mets’ system, and he has very similar scouting grades to Susana.

That last piece to match is Gore, and I think that would most likely be Tylor Megill. The Nats could’ve been interested in David Peterson too, but Megill has more control left and their window is a ways down the road. They need to give all these prospects time to develop, and Megill would still be there when that window opens.

Since Eric Hosmer invoked his no-trade clause, he won’t be going to Washington. He’ll be going to Boston in a separate deal, which means I don’t have to come up with a Met to match him. Which is good for me, because the Mets don’t have an overpaid, underproducing veteran. Maybe a bucket of BP balls? Or stocking the clubhouse soda machine?

Obviously this is all hypothetical, but it’s interesting to see what the Mets would’ve had to pay for the generational talent of Juan Soto and a good rental DH in Josh Bell. Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Robert Dominguez, and Tylor Megill would be the closest option to what the Padres gave the Nationals. I would've done this trade in a heartbeat.