San Diego Padres president A.J. Preller said 10 teams checked in on a possible Juan Soto trade but three were "at the final table having conversations."
The Padres agreed to trade Soto and fellow outfielder Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees in a blockbuster that saw five players, including starter Michael King, go back to San Diego.
The Toronto Blue Jays were at times rumoured to be connected to the Padres and Soto during this week's MLB Winter Meetings in Nashville. However, Toronto's apparent push for free agent Shohei Ohtani seemingly prevented them from being very aggressive in trade talks for Soto, a former MVP expected to command $30 million in his final season of arbitration.
Preller told reporters late Wednesday that the Yankees were very aggressive in their pursuit of Soto, whose addition now gives New York a second star bat to pair with Aaron Judge.
"I think everybody understood that they had a need and Juan is an incredible player and fit the need really well," Preller said. "Hopefully it's a deal that works out for both sides."
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