2024 Mariners Offseason Plan: Swing for Juan Soto

Everyone wants Ohtani, but it's good to have other plans in place as well. What if the Mariners focused their offseason around acquiring Juan Soto.
93rd MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard
93rd MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard / Steph Chambers/GettyImages
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What the Mariners would be acquiring in Juan Soto

When you're talking about Juan Soto, you're talking about arguably the most feared hitter in the game today. After taking the baseball world by storm as a 20-year-old, offensively carrying the Washington Nationals to their first ever World Series victory over the not yet caught cheating Houston Astros.

While the Nationals traded their stars and faded away, Soto continued to be the lone bright spot in DC before being traded to San Diego at the 2022 trade deadline. After a slow start in San Diego by his terms (127 OPS+), Soto was the lone bright spot offensively in 2023, posting a 158 OPS+ with 35 home runs and 132 BBs. For his career, Soto carries a .284/.421/.524 slash line, which is good for a career OPS+ of 157.

These are historic numbers. In the history of baseball, Juan Soto ranks #23 on the all-time leaders in OPS+. This is truly one of the greatest hitters we have ever seen. If Seattle can pair him with Julio Rodriguez, the Mariners instantly become the AL West favorites in 2024, which is saying a lot when you consider who just had a parade in Dallas.

The addition of Soto puts you in that truly elite contender position, but that doesn't mean there are holes or depth that need to be filled around, so here's how we'd look to finish off the hot stove season and build a complete team around Juan Soto and Julio Rodriguez.