Major League Baseball got its answer to the NBA’s summer of intrigue with Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell over the weekend. On Saturday, Nationals superstar outfielder Juan Soto rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract extension with the club, and is consequently available for trade.
The news led to immediate speculation about Soto’s future, especially among fans of the biggest spenders in the sport: teams like the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers. While the Nationals still have team control of Soto until he hits free agency in 2025, and thus can decide to send him to whichever team gives the biggest trade package, it stands to reason that a franchise like that would feel good about its chance to re-sign the 23-year-old slugger and thus give up a haul of prospects and other valuable assets to land him.
Los Angeles has not been shy about making aggressive moves for bonafide stars in recent years, culminating in the 2020 World Series. During last night’s All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, fans in centerfield, where Soto entered the game, made it known: they want him in the City of Angels.
“Future Dodger” chants rained in, and Soto had to turn towards the fans and flash a big smile in response.
That smile was representative of the highs of Soto’s weekend, which included a dramatic Home Run Derby title. There were also plenty of lows, in large part because of the surprising trade news which has him at the center of the sport’s biggest story right now.
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“A couple weeks ago, they were saying they’d never trade me, and now all these things are coming out,” Soto said Monday. “It feels really uncomfortable. You don’t know what to trust. But at the end of the day, it’s out of my hands, with what decision they make.”
On the year, Soto is hitting .250/.405/.497 with 20 home runs and 43 RBIs for the struggling Nats. The team is in the NL East basement at 31–63, 27.5 games behind the Mets. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have the best record in the National League at 60–30 and are once again prime contenders for the World Series.
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