Juan Soto confirmed to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas on Wednesday that he turned down a 13-year, $350 million extension offer from the Nationals prior to the MLB lockout.
Soto, set to become a free agent in 2025 at the age of 26, told Rojas that he feels his best options will be to take things a year at a time and wait for free agency, where he is certain to earn a historic payday if he continues his current trajectory.
The 23-year-old was again a monster at the plate last season, batting .313 with 29 home runs while posting a .999 OPS and a 7.1 WAR. He was an All-Star for the first time and led the league with 145 walks and a .465 on-base percentage, the second straight year he led all of baseball in that category.
Over his four-year career, Soto is slashing .301/.432/.550.
Soto would likely make much more than $350 million in free agency. Corey Seager, soon to turn 28, received a $325 million deal from the Rangers over 10 years after playing in just 95 games last season, while slashing .297/.367/.504 over his seven-year career. Francisco Lindor inked a $341 million contract extension prior to the start of last season, and Fernando Tatis Jr., considered one of the brightest young stars in the game alongside Soto, signed a 14-year, $340 million extension with the Padres prior to last season.
Soto told Rojas that he still sees Washington as a place he’d like to finish his career, but he will hold out for more in free agency or a better extension offer from the Nationals, who offered Soto what would have been the third-highest extension in league history, behind only Mookie Betts and Mike Trout.