Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto (22) could possibly move before the deadline or walk in the offseason. Gary Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Insider on Juan Soto trade rumors: 'One team I'm watching very carefully is the San Francisco Giants'

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 7/21/22

The MLB trade deadline is less than two weeks away and the hottest name on the market continues to be Home Run Derby champion Juan Soto. Things seem to be well past the point of a possible agreement on a contract extension to keep Soto in the nation's capital and now the questions appears to be whether the Washington Nationals will move the two-time All-Star before the deadline or if he will walk in the offseason.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi spoke on the latest Soto developments Thursday morning and named an NL West team as one particular squad to look out for in a potential trade.

Yes, I believe Juan Soto will be traded by August 2. Here are my thoughts on the situation, less than 2 weeks before the deadline. (And thanks to @StateAndLiberty for my All-Star break wardrobe additions!) pic.twitter.com/f2cqBeJ7ob
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 21, 2022

Because the Nationals have the worst record in the league (31-63) coming out of the All-Star break, they may want to capitalize on Soto's sky-high trade value at a time when they have little to no shot at making the playoffs. The Giants meanwhile are currently just 1/2 game out of the third wild card spot in the National League with their 48-43 mark.

Soto -- who has expressed his desire to stay with Washington -- has registered 20 home runs, 43 RBI and a league-leading 79 walks this season, along with a .250/.405/.497 slash line over 91 games.

More must-reads: