Juan Soto is ruling the MLB offseason rumors as his trade predictions continue to rise amidst his uncertain San Diego Padres future. As many more teams emerge as prospective contenders to clinch the Dominican, two of them have set their names as the probable finalists of the race. Now, the fans cannot stop speculating about which of their players will be the best fit to trade for Soto.
The Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees have big plans set in motion for the Soto trade. However, it has been reported that the Padres are yet to cave into the offers being made by the New York Yankees. The Friars have made it clear that the offers should contain a good number of pitchers in the loop. Considering that, here’s a comparison of both contending teams’ trade prospects for Soto: Alek Manoah and Michael King.
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Michael King vs. Alex Manoah: Statistical Analysis for 2023
Starting with the dark horse Blue Jays, they have Alek Manoah. The 25-year-old All-Star has struck out 79 with an ERA of 5.87 and a 1.740 WHIP across 19 games pitched this season. The slugger already has a Cy Young nomination under his belt from back in 2022. How does the Bronx Bombers’ prospect compare against him?
Coming to the big league New York Yankees, their pitcher, Michael King, has made strides across an otherwise disappointing season for the team. Pinstripe Alley tagged him as the topmost Yankee player of this year. In their words, “In terms of blowing away expectations, no Yankees player came close to the achievements of Michael King.”
The ace struck out 127 with an ERA of 2.75 and a 1.146 WHIP across 49 games pitched this season. Comparatively speaking, King looks to have a better chance than Manoah. But there’s also the factor that the Padres will not be satisfied with just getting King and some cash favors in the Soto trade. The prospective sluggers’ past records should also be taken into consideration while comparing their eligibility for the trade.
What does King and Manoah’s records look like, career-wise?
What is interesting about the Blue Jays’ chances of trumping Soto is that, despite having a better year, King falls short in front of Manoah’s career-wide score, according to a Stathead analysis.
Manoah has a career record of 7.8 WAR, which trumps King’s 5.5 score. The former also have a win record of 28-18 across 70 games compared to King’s 13-17 across 115 games. King’s 3.38 ERA falls short of Manoah’s 3.32. King and Manoah have struck out 282 and 386 across their careers, respectively.
On the flip side of it, King comparatively fares well with his ERA+, strikeout percentage, base on balls, and BB percentage of 126/27.2/83/8.0 compared to Manoah’s 124/23.3/150/8.0. He also has seven saves in his bag, while Manoah has zilch.
Overall, it looks like both the aces go head to head with their previous stats, regardless of this season’s performances. Manoah (2019) has been in the game for a lesser period of time compared to King (2016). That makes the Blue Jays the better choice of team to trade with. Do you think they will be a perfect fit for Soto? Let us know your views in the comments below!
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Deepanshi Bajaj