The Washington Nationals tried to sign outfielder Juan Soto to a long-term contract before the start of the MLB lockout, to no avail.
Soto confirmed to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas that he and his representatives turned down the offer. The 23-year-old star isn’t set to hit free agency until 2025.
“But right now, me and my agents think the best option is to go year after year and wait for free agency. My agent, Scott Boras, is in control of that situation,” Soto said. “Anyway, in my mind I still have Washington as a place I’d like to spend the rest of my career. We’ll see.”
Well, Soto might be saying he wants to stay in D.C., but fans of several other MLB franchises–the Mets, Yankees, Astros, Phillies, Cubs and Blue Jays, to name a few–are dreaming on the possibility of him signing with their team following today’s news.
Overall, it seems like fans think Soto made the right call and that the value of his next contract should be $400 million-plus.
I’ll stop watching if you let him go @Nationals https://t.co/xFeRjCC1fq
— Nathan Allen (Allegedly) (@All3nHyper) February 16, 2022
Not enough money IMO gonna be the first 500 million in baseball https://t.co/xhJhef80lO
— Juan Casas (@juancasas2923) February 16, 2022
As a reminder, Acuña signed for 10 years and $124 million. And the final two years on that are club options! https://t.co/Wq7qErYjf2
— Scott Coleman (@scottcoleman55) February 16, 2022
Low-ball city. (Plus you know Lerner had a bunch of deferments in there). His next contract will start with a 4 (minimum). https://t.co/jn9RZ532Ax
— Daniel Wexler (@WexlerRules) February 16, 2022
Your favorite team doesn’t have the same money as ours. Bring Soto home #LFGM https://t.co/nuD8VmJwP6
— metsandtheciti (@metsandtheciti) February 16, 2022
Bold move. I respect it though https://t.co/qYnA2ppQpX
— Sergeant Chill (@SenorFox4Real) February 16, 2022
Rival fans licking their chops like they don’t have three years to keep negotiating. 😂 https://t.co/ZB6o8HyUpb
— Eephus Tosser (@EephusTosser) February 16, 2022
In 2021, Soto made his first All-Star game and finished second in NL MVP voting. He slashed .312/.465/.534 with 29 home runs, 95 RBI, 111 runs scored and a league-leading 145 walks.
Since breaking into the big leagues in 2018, Soto has been one of the game’s brightest stars, and he helped the Nationals break through and win the World Series in 2019.
The post Juan Soto Turned Down Huge Offer: MLB World Reacts appeared first on The Spun.