Signs seem to be pointing to Juan Soto going to the Padres.
One interesting one to watch today is Cubs C Willson Contreras. I think the Mets are hoping to land him, and he'd be a big addition, but other clubs are in the running too.
If Padres indeed land Soto, watch for Dodgers to respond with some out-of-left-field blockbuster.
While you have be careful, because Syndergaard was in a 6-man rotation, I think the way to view this is:
-- It gets Bailey Falter out of the rotation for the final 2 months
-- Syndergaard is likely to be better than Gibson
Nola-Wheeler-Suarez-Syndergaard-Gibson gives them a good chance to pitch their way into the playoffs, at which point you hope the whole offense is clicking.
You're right that it doesn't appear they're going for it in any significant way. We'll know soon.
As far as Soto is concerned, the Phillies' bad drafting and player development made that acquisition impossible. Even something along the lines of Abel-Painter-O'Hoppe-Stott-Bohm doesn't top Padres' offer.