Earlier today various news outlets reported that Nationals star outfielder Juan Soto officially turned down the team's best possible offer for a new contract. First reported by The Athletic the offer for Soto was an astounding fifteen years and $440 million dollars. Early last month current Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo had expressed little interest in dealing the twenty-three years old superstar with the hope he would rebuild the Nationals around him. However, after Soto chose to turn down the recent offer it seems likely that Soto will be dealt prior to the August 2nd trade deadline. 
Debuting at 19 years old back in 2019 it didn't take long for Soto to set the baseball world ablaze and become the sport's newest commodity. Soto kept the ball rolling in Washington after Bryce Harper left and filled the role better than Harper did during his tenure. Even at only twenty-three Juan Soto is a World Series Champion with the Nationals and before the rebuild was considered the future of the team. I'm not sure if he will rebuild or maybe he just wants a change of pace, but either way that's a lot of money to turn down. Soto leaving Washington will open a lot of interesting conversations as the hot stove heats up before August 2, but will the price be right? It is hard to know the right type of a return for someone who is one of the best players in baseball and only twenty three years old. Soto, a free agent at the end of the year, will make this offseason all the more interesting. The one question I have though is if you deal for him would you only send x amount of prospects to Washington if you knew that Soto wasn't a rental. I know I would like some type of guarantee or at least a chance he would resign.
A quote taken from an msn.com article:
"Rosenthal reports that the prevailing sentiment in Washington is that if Soto won’t agree to this deal, he won’t agree to any deal. Unlike previous large contracts the Nationals have handed out, this offer didn’t include any deferred money."
Debuting at 19 years old back in 2019 it didn't take long for Soto to set the baseball world ablaze and become the sport's newest commodity. Soto kept the ball rolling in Washington after Bryce Harper left and filled the role better than Harper did during his tenure. Even at only twenty-three Juan Soto is a World Series Champion with the Nationals and before the rebuild was considered the future of the team. I'm not sure if he will rebuild or maybe he just wants a change of pace, but either way that's a lot of money to turn down. Soto leaving Washington will open a lot of interesting conversations as the hot stove heats up before August 2, but will the price be right? It is hard to know the right type of a return for someone who is one of the best players in baseball and only twenty three years old. Soto, a free agent at the end of the year, will make this offseason all the more interesting. The one question I have though is if you deal for him would you only send x amount of prospects to Washington if you knew that Soto wasn't a rental. I know I would like some type of guarantee or at least a chance he would resign.
Sources:
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