Yankees acquire OF Juan Soto and Trent Grisham
The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired three-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner OF Juan Soto and two-time Gold Glove winner OF Trent Grisham from the San Diego Padres in exchange for RHP Michael King, C Kyle Higashioka, RHP Jhony Brito, RHP Randy Vásquez and RHP Drew Thorpe.
Soto, 25, hit .275/.410/.519 (156-for-568) with 97R, 32 doubles, 1 triple, 35HR, 109RBI, 132BB and 12SB in 162 games with the San Diego Padres in 2023. He led the Majors in walks, tied for the Major League lead in games played (tied for first in NL), tied for second in game-winning RBI (16, tied for second in NL), ranked third in on-base percentage (second in NL), tied for fourth in runs batted in (tied for third in NL) and ranked eighth in OPS (.930, fifth in NL). Soto also ranked in the top-10 of the National League in slugging percentage (seventh), WAR among position players (5.5, seventh per FanGraphs), total bases (295, ninth), extra-base hits (68, tied for ninth) and home runs (10th). He set career highs last season in home runs and games played and tied his career bests in doubles and stolen bases. Soto was also one of just four Major League players to appear in all 162 games last season and the only outfielder to do so.
Over six Major League seasons with the Washington Nationals (2018-22) and San Diego Padres (2022-23), the left-handed batter has hit .284/.421/.524 (768-for-2,704) with 527R, 148 doubles, 11 triples, 160HR, 483RBI, 640BB and 50SB in 779 games. Since making his Major League debut in 2018, Soto leads the Majors in walks and on-base percentage, ranks fourth in OPS (.946) and ninth in WAR among position players (28.4, FanGraphs).
An All-Star in each of the least three seasons (2021-23) and Silver Slugger Award winner in each of the last four (2020-23), Soto has finished in the top-10 of National League MVP voting four times (sixth in 2023, second in 2021, fifth in 2020 and ninth in 2019). He has been named to the All-MLB First Team twice (2020-21) and won the National League batting title in 2020 with a .351 average.
Soto has led the Majors in walks in each of the least three seasons (132BB in 2023, 135BB in 2022, 145BB in 2021) and has recorded at least 100 walks in four of his five 162-game seasons. He is one of seven players in Major League history to record at least 130BB in three different seasons, joining Babe Ruth (nine), Barry Bonds (eight), Ted Williams (seven), Eddie Yost (four), Joey Votto (three) and Eddie Stanky (three). He joins Williams as the only two players to do so in at least three of their first six Major League seasons. His 640 career walks are the most by a Major League player prior to his 25th birthday and the fourth-most by a player through his first 779 career games, trailing only Ted Williams (706), Max Bishop (687) and Frank Thomas (654).
Soto has hit at least 20 home runs in each of his five 162-game seasons (2018-19, ’21-23; hit 13HR during the 60-game season in 2020), reaching the 25HR-plateau in each of the last four non-shortened seasons (34HR in 2019, 29HR in 2021, 27HR in 2022, 35HR in 2023). His 160 career home runs are tied for the seventh-most by a Major League player prior to his 25th birthday, trailing only Eddie Mathews (190), Mel Ott (176), Jimmie Foxx (174), Mickey Mantle (173), Ken Griffey Jr. (172) and Alex Rodriguez (172).
In his career against right-handed pitching, he has hit .293/.443/.557 (527-for-1,797) with 109 doubles, 7 triples, 117HR and 482BB. His 1.000 OPS against right-handers since 2018 is the second highest in the Majors during that span, trailing only Los Angeles-AL’s Mike Trout (1.057).
Soto has batted .287/.452/.520 (190-for-662) with 36 doubles, 5 triples, 36HR and 209BB with runners in scoring position in his career, posting the eighth-highest career on-base percentage with RISP by any Major League player over the last 50 years (min. 500PA since 1974).
During his Major League career, Soto has appeared in both left field (454 games/452 starts) and right field (301 games/starts), posting a career .989 fielding percentage (1,436TC/16E). Since making his Major League debut in 2018, he leads all Major League outfielders in games played (755). He is also one of only two players to appear in 700 games in the outfield over that span, joining Nick Castellanos (745).
Soto has made the postseason twice in his career (2019 with Washington and 2022 with San Diego), hitting .261/.349/.495 (29-for-111) with 19R, 5 doubles, 7HR, 21RBI and 13BB in 29 games. In 2019, he hit .277/.373/.554 (18-for-65) with 12R, 3 doubles, 5HR, 14RBI and 9BB in 17 playoff games for the Nationals during their World Series championship campaign.
The Santo Domingo, D.R., native was originally signed by the Washington Nationals as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2015. He was acquired by San Diego along with INF Josh Bell in exchange for INF C.J. Abrams, LHP MacKenzie Gore, INF Luke Voit, OF Robert Hassell III, OF James Wood and RHP Jarlin Susana on August 2, 2022.
Grisham, 27, batted .198 (93-for-469) with 67R, 31 doubles, 1 triple, 13HR, 50RBI, 75BB and 15SB in 153 games with the Padres in 2023. He set career highs in games played, runs scored, doubles, walks and stolen bases. The outfielder appeared in a Major League-high 153 games in centerfield this past season, making 142 starts (the second most in the Majors) and posting a .987 fielding percentage (308TC/4E).
Over five Major League seasons with Milwaukee (2019) and San Diego (2020-23), the left-handed hitter has batted .216 (378-for-1,753) with 252R, 89 doubles, 11 triples, 61HR, 215RBI, 237BB and 46SB in 547 career games. A two-time Gold Glove winner in centerfield (2020 and ’22), he has also appeared defensively at all three outfield positions in his career, playing 508 games (455 starts) in centerfield, 17 games (nine starts) in left field and 16 games (14 starts) in right field.
Since 2020, Grisham leads all Major Lead centerfielders in games played (487) and outs above average (38, Statcast), ranks second in starts (441) and innings played (3,958.2IP), third in putouts (1,052) and total chances (1,073), and fifth in defensive runs saved (24, FanGraphs). Additionally, he is one of only two players to appear in at least 145 games in centerfield in each of the last two seasons (2022-23), joining Cleveland’s Myles Straw.
The Burleson, Tex., native was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (15th overall) of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft. He was then acquired by San Diego from Milwaukee along with RHP Zach Davies in exchange for LHP Eric Lauer, INF Luis Urías and a player to be named later or cash considerations on November 27, 2019.
King, 28, went 4-8 with six saves and a 2.75 ERA (104.2IP, 88H, 35R/32ER, 32BB, 127K, 10HR) in 49 games (nine starts) in 2023. Over parts of five Major League seasons with the Yankees (2019-23), the right-handed pitcher has gone 13-17 with seven saves and a 3.38 ERA (247.2IP, 212H, 103R/93ER, 83BB, 282K, 24HR) in 115 career games (19 starts). The Rochester, N.Y., native was originally drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 12th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Boston College. He was then acquired by the Yankees from the Marlins along with 2017-18 international signing bonus pool money in exchange for INF Garrett Cooper and LHP Caleb Smith on November 20, 2017.
Higashioka, 33, hit .236 (57-for-242) with 24R, 13 doubles, 10HR, 34RBI and 14BB in 92 games this past season. Over parts of seven Major League seasons with the Yankees (2017-23), the right-handed batter has hit .210 (180-for-858) with 94R, 38 doubles, 40HR, 121RBI and 51BB in 314 career games. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native was originally selected by the Yankees in the seventh round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.
Brito, 25, saw his first Major League action with the Yankees in 2023, going 9-7 with one save and a 4.28 ERA (90.1IP, 82H, 47R/43ER, 28BB, 72K, 14HR) in 25 games (13 starts). The right-handed pitcher also made seven starts with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year, going 2-2 with a 5.45 ERA (36.1IP, 40H, 23R/22ER, 16BB, 33K, 8HR). Over six minor league seasons with the Yankees (2016-17, ’19, ’21-23), Brito has gone 28-23 with two saves and a 3.86 ERA (429.0IP, 415H, 219R/184ER, 97BB, 377K, 36HR) in 93 games (77 starts). The Puerto Plata, D.R., native was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on November 9, 2015.
Vásquez, 25, made his Major League debut with the Yankees this past season, going 2-2 with a 2.87 ERA (37.2IP, 30H, 12ER, 18BB, 33K, 5HR) in 11 games (five starts). The right-handed pitcher also made 17 starts with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 3-8 with a 4.59 ERA (80.1IP, 78H, 45R/41ER, 40BB, 96K, 10HR). Over five minor league seasons with the Yankees (2018-19, ’21-23), Vásquez has gone 18-21 with a 3.41 ERA (388.0IP, 327H, 179R/147ER, 159BB, 427K, 32HR) in 85 games (81 starts). The Navarrete, D.R., native was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on May 21, 2018.
Thorpe, 23, was named the 2023 MiLB Pitching Prospect of the Year after combining to go 14-2 with one shutout and a 2.52 ERA (139.1IP, 99H, 43R/39ER, 38BB, 182K, 13HR) over 23 starts in his first professional season with High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset. The Washington, Utah, native was selected by the Yankees in the second round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal Poly (Calif.).