The Washington Nationals may have drawn a line in contract negotiations with 23-year old superstar Juan Soto. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, turned down the Nationals’ offer of $440 million over 15 years. As a result, the Nationals will entertain trade offers for Soto before this year’s Aug. 2 trade deadline.
The Nationals’ offer did not include any deferred money. The $440 million would have the largest deal in MLB history. Currently Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout has the largest deal at $426 million through 12 years. The $29.33 million annual average salary would have ranked as the 20th-highest in baseball.
This is a serious turn of events. The Nationals were hoping to rebuild its roster around Soto, who through five MLB seasons emerged as one of baseball’s best players. However, his emergence comes with a price. A steep one, that ultimately the Nationals may not be willing to pay.
Last month, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo balked at the idea of trading Soto. But Boras historically prefers to take his clients to free agency to scope the market.
Soto turned down a $350 million, 13-year offer last winter. He then turned down another offer this past May. His rejection on the $440 million offer is his third in the past year.
Opposing front offices are already having conversations on what it will take to acquire Soto in a trade, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The Nationals have Soto under team control for two more seasons after this year. In one way, there is still time for the two sides to work out a deal. Yet, the Nationals have been unable to get Soto’s asking price.
After being a runner-up in the NL Rookie of the Year voting at the age of 19, Soto helped lead the Nationals to a World Series title in 2019. In 2020, he became the youngest National League batting champion at the age of 20. Last season, he led MLB with 145 walks while hitting .313/.465/.534 with 29 home runs and 95 RBIs.
This season he got off to a slow start with contract talks in the background. But, he recently went on a 16-game hit streak. Now he is hitting .247/.405/.490 with 19 home runs, 42 RBIs, 17 doubles and an MLB-leading 79 walks.
The Nationals now must weigh their options. It’s hard to move on from a 23-year old phenom who is just in his fifth year as a pro. But, the haul that the Nationals are in line to grab in return for the talents of Soto may just be too much to pass on.
