Juan Soto’s stalled contract negotiations have been a major talking point of late, dominating what has admittedly been a slow news cycle amid the usual summer lull between the NBA Finals and the start of football season. It’s hard to believe that a future Hall-of-Famer in the prime of his career could be dealt in the coming weeks, though that seems to be a real possibility, even with Soto not due to hit free agency for another three years.
Playing hardball with a generational talent is nothing new for the Nats, who employed similar tactics with Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer, Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner, all of whom eventually skipped town, decimating a roster that, as recently as three years ago, was among the sport’s best. The latest chapter of the Soto saga unfolded this weekend when the All-Star outfielder turned down a reported 15-year, $440-million extension, declining would have been the second-largest contract in American sports history. Taking pettiness to its logical extreme, the Nats, according to agent Scott Boras, made Soto fly commercial to the Home Run Derby, landing in Los Angeles hours after most of the participants had already arrived.
Whether that’s an accurate representation of events or Boras exaggerating for dramatic effect, Washington is again at risk of losing its best player and many, including former NFL receiver Braylon Edwards, feel the Nats only have themselves to blame. “One, that’s way too long. [We] haven’t seen a contract like that since Magic Johnson,” said Edwards, cohost of The Bottom Line podcast on Woodward Sports. “Two, it’s $29 million a year. Miguel Cabrera makes $30 million right now and will make $31 million next year. The going rate for a stud like that, 23 years old, World Series win. Don’t forget you got rid of Bryce Harper because you believed in this guy.”
While Edwards isn’t someone we usually seek for baseball analysis, he’s not wrong. In fact, you could argue the Nats lowballed Soto, presenting an offer that would make him, on a per-year basis, the 16th-highest-paid player in MLB behind Chris Sale ($30 million AAV), Corey Seager ($33 million), David Price ($32 million), Carlos Correa ($35.1 million) and Anthony Rendon ($36.6 million), among others top earners. Soto hasn’t had a particularly distinguished season (career-low .250 average), though he’s still among the league leaders in walks (first), on-base percentage (fifth) and runs scored (tied for 12th).
“Two Silver Sluggers, two All-Stars and [Monday] night you saw him win the Home Run Derby,” said Edwards. “The Nationals leaked that information because they knew the fans would go after him and not the team.”
Edwards’ hypothesis, though unconfirmed, at least seems plausible, suggesting the Nats, doing their best to shape the narrative, intentionally leaked contract details in an effort to shape public opinion. Whether that affords them any leverage remains to be seen, though if the Nationals aren’t willing to meet Soto’s contract demands, another team inevitably will.
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