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SF Giants quietly benefiting from division rival's monstrous trade in 2022

ByJeff Young|
Washington Nationals v San Diego Padres
Washington Nationals v San Diego Padres | Orlando Ramirez/GettyImages

The San Diego Padres sent James Wood, C.J. Abrams, and MacKenzie Gore to the Washington Nationals in 2022 in an eight-player deal to acquire Juan Soto. The SF Giants have quietly benefited from this deal, as they now do not have to play division games against Wood, Gore, or Abrams.

SF Giants quietly benefiting from division rival's monstrous trade in 2022

The Giants are not the only beneficiary of this deal. The rest of the NL West does not need to face these players quite as often. The same cannot be said for the NL East, as the Nationals player their division rivals 13 games apiece.

Once it became clear that the Nationals were motivated to move Soto in 2022, the Padres were eager to swing a deal. The trade package was not one that many teams could offer, and blew any other reported trade package out of the water.

In general, the team that acquires the proven player gets the better side of that trade. In this case, the Padres added a generational talent in Soto. He played 214 games with San Diego before he was shipped to the New York Yankees in 2024. The trade package coming back to the Padres was headlined by Michael King.

However, the Nationals did quite well on their side of the Soto trade. No team wants to be the one to trade a talent like the star outfielder. Perhaps, both sides did well on this deal, but the Nationals added three players, one of whom has already turned into an NL All-Star in C.J. Abrams. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, and James Wood should merit serious All-Star consideration this season.

Abrams has an .842 OPS with 11 home runs and 27 RBI in 308 plate appearances this season. Wood has quickly emerged into a force, posting a .931 OPS with 22 home runs and 64 RBI in 363 plate appearances. Lastly, Gore has become a rotation ace with a 3.09 ERA in 17 starts while leading the NL with 129 strikeouts.

The Nationals are not quite back to being a perennial postseason club like they were in the 2010's, but they added quite a few foundational players from the Juan Soto trade. For the Giants' sake, it sure is a good thing that they do not have to face off against these players 13 times each season.