Juan Soto will buy Nick Martinez 'something' to wear No. 22 with Padres

Juan Soto’s first order of business with the San Diego Padres was securing jersey No. 22. Padres reliever Nick Martinez wore the number prior to the acquisition of Soto. So, Soto started negotiations with him shortly after word broke he got traded to San Diego.

Before the 23-year old slugger arrived to the Padres, he was able to work out a deal by agreeing to buy Martinez “something,” according to the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee.

“That number means a lot to me,” Martinez told Acee. “It means a lot to him. It’s too bad I wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime generational player.”

And that’s what Soto is. It’s rare a player of Soto’s caliber becomes available. But, that’s what the Washington Nationals did despite having 2.5 years of team control on the 2022 Home Run Derby champion.

“He’s gonna buy me something,” Martinez added. “We win the World Series, I’ll probably forget all about it. And he’s definitely a guy that can help us win the World Series.”