Cardinals hesitant to include Dylan Carlson with top prospects for Juan Soto?

Teams are entering the 11th hour trying to acquire Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. It’s widely reported that there are three teams ahead of the pack, the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Earlier Monday, MLB insider Hector Gomez reported the Cardinals were “intensifying” their while the Padres and Dodgers have continued to offer their best possible prospect package to the Nationals.

However, the Cardinals are not willing to include 23-year old outfielder Dylan Carlson along with their top prospects in the same offer at this point in negotiations with the Nationals, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.

The Cardinals also have the top third baseman prospect in baseball, Jordan Walker, according to MLB Pipeline. Will the Cardinals relent and pay the price to land one of baseball’s young premier players?

The Nationals are asking for a high price. They want a haul that includes a combination of young solid players with team control and top prospects. And for good reason. Soto is an elite talent. Not many players have had the career start as Soto by the age of 23.

Soto is also under team control for the next two years beyond this season. The Nationals are content to move into the winter with Soto still on roster. If any team wants to acquire the 2022 Home Run Derby champion, they’ll have to pony up their offer.