Juan Soto Trade: Blue Jays emerge as surprise destination as Padres and Yankees at crossroads over two-time All-Star's potential Bronx switch

Juan Soto has been an intriguing name to follow during the young offseason. The San Diego Padres have dangled him in front of other teams to see if they can find a trade partner ahead of the 2024 season.

With a giant hole in their outfield, the New York Yankees see Soto as a great signing. However, the Padres are asking for a lot, and the Yankees are hesitant. As of Friday, the two sides are far apart.

The Padres are looking for a multi-player return for Soto. This includes major-league-ready or near-major-league-ready pitching. They are seeking to fill their holes on the pitching side. Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, and Josh Hader are all free agents.

San Diego was targeting Clarke Schmidt and Michael King, but the Bronx Bombers see King as a key part of their rotation in 2024. In 2023, he appeared in 49 games, compiling a 4-8 record with a 2.75 ERA and 127 strikeouts on 104.2 innings of work.

With the Padres and Yankees being so far apart, this has led to some other teams putting their name in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. One team in particular, the Toronto Blue Jays.

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How do the Blue Jays fit in the mix for Juan Soto?

San Diego Padres v Chicago White Sox

For the Blue Jays, they seem like a great suitor to land Juan Soto. Given the Padres are looking for pitching, that is something that Toronto has to offer. A deal involving one of their top prospects, Ricky Tiedemann should excite San Diego.

Tiedemann is a left-handed pitcher who is expected to be big-league-ready in 2024. He was taken in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft after a successful JuCo career.

As free agency starts to heat up, fans will want to keep a close on on the Padres and Soto.