Juan Soto Trade Rumors: Giants Unlikely to Pursue Nationals Star Ahead of Deadline

Despite being one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball, the list of trade suitors for Washington Nationals star Juan Soto may not be as strong as first thought.

The San Francisco Giants aren't likely to make a run at Soto, according to a report.

"Based on what I've heard, I think it's about 5%," he said.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported last week that Washington was going to entertain offers for Soto ahead of the August 2 trade deadline after he rejected a contract extension.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network, the Nationals may be willing to accept a prospect-laden package for Soto, especially if they could also get an acquiring team to take one of their "bad" contracts back in return.

Patrick Corbin is the bad contract the Nationals want teams to return. Over the final two seasons of his contract, the southpaw is due $59 million.

According to Heyman's report, the New York Yankees and New York Mets are unwilling to trade their top three prospects in a package for Soto.

If the Yankees and Mets feel like they have a chance to make a deal happen, they could take them out of the equation along with the Giants, which would make it more likely that Soto will stay in Washington.

If the Giants wanted to, they could make a reasonable offer to the Nationals. The MLB.com ranked their system as the 11th best in the league with four top-100 prospects coming into the season.

Soto is going to cost a lot in any trade. He is on track to have his fifth consecutive season with a.400 on- base percentage. The Dominican star has a.589 batting average in 43 games.

He has two more years of team control before he becomes a free agent, which adds to his value.

If the Giants want to make a run at the playoffs, they need a spark. The Los Angeles Dodgers are in control of the NL West.

San Francisco is one game behind Philadelphia and St. Louis in the race for the final wild-card spot.