NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A.J. Preller walked into a mostly empty media workroom late Wednesday night at the Gaylord Opryland Resort looking worn out.
After three-plus exhausting days at the winter meetings, he had finally made the painstaking decision to trade Juan Soto to the Yankees, though he was optimistic about the promising arms he was getting in return.
The final deal was Soto and Trent Grisham for Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito and Kyle Higashioka.
Preller said 10 teams checked in on Soto, who is entering the final year of his contract, and “about three” were at the final table.
But the Yankees won out in the end with the Padres starved for pitching.
“They were aggressive,” Preller said of the Yankees and GM Brian Cashman. “They clearly made it known this was a deal and a player [they wanted] — Brian’s pretty direct. Everybody understood they had a need. Juan is an incredible player and fit the need really well.
“So when you have two teams that line up and a team that’s calling you consistently, you usually get a feel that this is something that has a chance to happen.”
Preller, who acquired Soto from the Nationals at the trade deadline in 2022, described the 25-year-old outfielder as a “future Hall of Famer,”
“It’s very difficult to make a deal where you’re trading a player the caliber of Juan Soto,” Preller said. “But if we did that, we wanted to make sure we shored up a bunch of needs. We were able to get some depth with quality.
“Michael King and Drew Thorpe, just to name two, we think really highly of these guys.”
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