By Jordan Long
The Washington Nationals’ record currently stands at 31-63 the worst in baseball. The Washington Nationals offered outfielder Juan Soto a 15-year, $440 million contract which would have paid him around $29.33 million a year. Soto turned it down. After that was rejected, Washington is looking to trade the outfielder.
Soto has been with Washington since 2018. This season, Soto is hitting .250 with 20 home runs and 43 RBI’s, not bad for a struggling team.
On defense, Soto is Washington’s starting right fielder. He has been placed there for 89 games so far this season. They can count on him to catch the baseball. Soto rarely drops the ball with 1 error so far this year. Base runners can’t run on him because of Soto’s strong arm. They know if they try to move up, Soto will fire it to that base and they will be out.
Washington wanted to keep him long term because he is one of their better players. For Soto, he turned down the contract because Washington isn’t a great baseball team. Washington hasn’t been in the playoffs since they won the World Series in 2019. Soto was part of that team. Last year they went 65-97. This season looks like they will lose 100+ games. Soto sees Washington is rebuilding and doesn’t want to be part of that. Now Washington is looking to deal him. Those who may acquire his services are the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and the New York Yankees.
The L.A. Dodgers are always in the mix to win the National League West Division. At the All-Star Break, they are leading the division at 60-30. The Dodgers could always use another bat in the lineup. Soto would make that potent offense even more dangerous. On defense, it couldn’t hurt to have another arm.
The Dodgers though already have a right fielder in Mookie Betts who is one of the better outfielders in the game right now. Soto wouldn’t play right field but left field. He has done that before in his career for 300 games. He would give the Dodgers one of the best outfields in the game with Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, and Soto.
The Padres trail the Dodgers in the National League West division by 10 games. Their only hope of earning a playoff spot is 1 of the 3 Wild Card spots. They are the 2nd Wild Card team.
The Padres would like to add to their offense of Eric Hosmer, Manny Machado, and Fernando Tatis Jr. Adding Soto might give them the edge to earn a Wild Card spot. Once the postseason begins, they could end up advancing because of those hitters in the lineup. They all can hit the baseball for extra base hits and home runs.
The Padres though have an everyday right fielder in Wil Myers. Most likely he will stay there and Soto could be the left fielder. This is the only way a trade to the Padres works.
The New York Mets are always looking to improve their team. They stand at 58-35, first in the National League East Division, 2.5 games ahead of Atlanta. Soto might be the improvement to win the division for the Mets.
The Mets starting right fielder is Starling Marte. Adding Soto is an improvement over Marte. Marte can’t drive the baseball like Soto. Sure Marte’s batting average is better at .295 compared to Soto’s .250. The difference is Marte has 9 home runs, 11 behind Soto. Soto may be the edge the Mets need not only to win the division but have a chance to go back to the World Series for the first time since 2015.
These are just a few of the landing spots for Soto. Washington will listen to offers and find the one they feel is best. They have until July 31st which is the MLB trade deadline. Time is ticking for them to find a trade partner. The worst case is Soto stays until the end of this season and is dealt during the offseason.
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