Fire up the trade rumors again.
ESPN‘s Buster Olney has heard from rival executives that the Washington Nationals might be “compelled — and motivated — to move Soto this summer.”
Could the Nationals actually move on from their 23-year-old superstar? The fledgling team is nowhere close to competing and Juan Soto‘s contract is running out of time.
So far, the Nationals have failed to sign Soto to a blockbuster deal that would keep him in Washington for likely the remainder of his career. Soto is set to hit free agency in 2024.
Rizzo has demonstrated a willingness to be an aggressive dealer in the past. In the summer before Bryce Harper reached free agency, Rizzo had a trade arranged with the Houston Astros that was eventually squelched by ownership. Given Soto’s rising salary, the sooner he is traded, the more the Nationals will get in return — and if the Lerner family is serious about selling the team, incoming ownership would likely prefer that any Soto trade occur before the transfer of power takes place.
Olney lists the Padres and Blue Jays as two teams that are extra motivated to move for Soto.
In Olney’s article, he also asks the question if Mets owner Steve Cohen and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner are going to spend big at the deadline.
It’s pretty evident that the Mets’ owner is on a mission to win a World Series and will do whatever it takes to win a championship. If Cohen’s team develops a roster problem, he’ll give the OK to fill it — even if that means taking on a bad contract in order to acquire a player. “They gave up prospects to get [Chris] Bassitt, to make that [Javier] Baez deal,” noted one evaluator. “I bet they’ll take on dead money to make a trade.” For example (and this is just speculation): The Mets could swap for a coveted Reds asset and agree to absorb some of the $50 million owed to Mike Moustakas. Or maybe they take on some of the money left on Jason Heyward‘s deal to land a player in a Cubs deal.
Olney believes the Mets will absolutely do something this summer to improve the team. Maybe it’s for Soto.
