It has been four years since the Padres made the blockbuster trade with the Washington Nationals for superstar outfielder Juan Soto, and they’re still facing the ramifications of it.
Former Major League Baseball executive Jim Bowden appeared as a guest on Foul Territory on Wednesday afternoon and took a shot at the team for mortgaging their future on Soto.
“It’s too painful watching James Wood and CJ Abrams rake every single night, to sit there and trade your next guy,” Bowden said.
Before the 2022 season, the Padres had one of the best farm systems in baseball, headlined by MacKenzie Gore, Abrams, and Wood.
At the time, the trade looked like the perfect move for San Diego, which was making a push to win their first World Series in franchise history by pairing him to play alongside Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.
When the trade deadline came around that season, the team was second in the National League West with a 58-46 record. General Manager A.J. Preller swung for the fences and traded the three of them, along with Robert Hassell III, for Soto.
Unfortunately for San Diego, things did not pan out. The team just missed the World Series that season when they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series and missed the playoffs the next year.
In December, 2023, Soto was traded by San Diego to the New York Yankees with Trent Grisham. The move allowed the Padres to replenish the farm to some degree, acquiring Michael King, along with four other players.
Last year, though, history repeated itself in San Diego when they traded away now No. 2 overall prospect Leo De Vries for Mason Miller at the deadline.
Fast forward a year later, the Padres farm system is considered the worst in baseball and enters Wednesday third in the National League West with a 50-51 record. Meanwhile, Abrams and Wood have turned into promising young players who were selected as All-Stars in 2026.
“I can’t trade anymore of these top prospects here,” Bowden said. “The farm system is so much different than it was, and you’ve got a problem.”
With the future not looking too bright in San Diego, Bowden is now urging the Padres to be sellers at this year’s deadline.
“The right play here isn’t for them to go for it this year; the right play is to do the exact opposite,” Bowden said. “Listen in on Mason Miller, listen on Michael King, and be very open to trying to see if you can get six or seven players back and quickly try to reboot this thing.”
The MLB trade deadline is Aug. 3, and no one knows which way the wind will blow in Southern California.
