Report: Nationals listening to offers for Soto after rejecting $440 million offer
Published
With the MLB trade deadline less than a month away, superstar slugger Juan Soto is reportedly available.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Washington Nationals All-Star outfielder recently rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract that would have made him the highest-paid player in baseball history. Rosenthal adds that the offer did not include any deferred money.
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said in early June they would not be trading Soto this season, but that has since changed after Soto's rejection, according to Rosenthal.
The 23-year-old is hitting .247 with 19 home runs and 42 RBIs over 89 games for the 30-62 Nats this season. Soto, who will play in his second career All-Star Game next week in Los Angeles, has spent his entire five-year career in Washington, hitting .292 with 117 homers and 354 RBIs over 553 games. The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic played a major role in helping to capture the franchise's first World Series title in 2019 over the Houston Astros when he was just 20-years-old.
Soto is under control for two more seasons after the 2022 campaign and will become a free agent entering his age 26 season.
The MLB trade deadline is on Aug. 2.