The San Diego Padres swung a huge deal at the 2022 MLB trade deadline. A.J. Preller and the Padres shipped off a massive haul of prospects, headlined by James Wood, MacKenzie Gore, and C.J. Abrams, for superstar outfielder Juan Soto.
While the Soto deal was a blockbuster at the time, there were other discussions surrounding another superstar that would’ve stunned the baseball world. That player was now the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way star, Shohei Ohtani.
Dennis Lin of The Athletic wrote an article that shared comments from general manager A.J. Preller about the Padres’ current state of the franchise. But, inside the story, Preller revealed how close the Padres came to landing Ohtani at the 2022 deadline.
“It was a super unique time,” Preller said. “I think, again, it’s a testament to our organization that we at least had the ability to have those conversations. … It was a lot of fun to be able to have those conversations about which player you would rather have — you know, three years of Soto, two years of Ohtani, and then also the guys in our system that we knew were going to go on to be great players.”
The Padres were one of many teams deep in conversations with the Los Angeles Angels in 2022 for Ohtani, and if Angels owner Arte Moreno hadn’t taken Ohtani off the block, the two-way superstar might’ve landed in San Diego.
Of all the teams at the 2022 trade deadline, the Padres had the best package to trade. All the prospects in the Soto deal also would’ve been in the Ohtani deal as well. While there might be some changes, the core of the deals —Wood, Gore, and Abrams —likely would have remained the same.
If the Padres had landed Ohtani, a lot could’ve changed. How far does the team make it in the 2022 postseason? Does Ohtani still sign with the Dodgers, or does he stick with the Padres? A lot would’ve been different, and such a path wasn’t far from happening.
San Diego could’ve landed baseball’s superstar, and if they had, they might also have more sway in trying to land one of the Japanese stars who came to MLB in Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. But such a world didn’t come to pass, despite the Padres being in substantial conversations with the Angels.
So much would’ve changed had Ohtani landed with the Padres. Soto’s landing spot, Ohtani’s future in the league, and so much more would’ve changed had Preller pulled off the deal. The Padres likely had the best offer on the table, and if it weren’t for Moreno, the Padres could’ve had one of baseball’s most interesting superstars on their roster during at least the 2022 and 202
