One of baseball’s brightest young stars is apparently on the trade block. According to a report by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto turned down a lucrative contract offer from the team, which is now ready to listen to calls on the 23-year-old All-Star ahead of next month’s trade deadline.
The contract would be the biggest in baseball history, as Soto would have been paid $440 million over the life of the deal. However, because the contract would span 15 years, Soto would make a hair over $29 million each year — this would be considerably lower than the record for average annual value for a MLB player, which is $43.3 million a year Max Scherzer makes, and quite a bit lower than the AAV record for a position player, which is Mike Trout’s $37.1 million.
Despite the fact that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo recently said the team is not going to trade Soto, Rosenthal reports Soto rejecting the offer changed things considerably.
Soto’s rejection of $440 million, however, altered the equation, sources said, leaving club officials believing that if they cannot sign him for that money, they never will. The Nationals view their exploration of a Soto trade as due diligence. He is under club control for the rest of this season and then two more. The team does not need to trade him immediately if it does not get a desired offer.
While Soto is having a down season by his lofty standards, he is still hitting .247 with a .895 OPS and 19 home runs. The Nationals are 30-62, the worst record in the league.