It’s typical in today’s sports landscape to throw out big numbers when a player turns down a large contract.
In Juan Soto’s case, there’s no reason for him to sign a 15-year deal with the Washington Nationals whether it’s $440M or not.
According the Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, none of the money in the deal would be deferred.
But why would Soto sign a deal like this when he’s going to be a free agent at the age of 26? Oh… and his agent is the one and only Scott Boras.
It’s why the Nationals have done an about face on trading him.
On June 1st, GM Mike Rizzo told a local radio station “We are not trading Juan Soto,” Rizzo said. “We made it clear to his agent (Boras) and to the player. … We have every intention of building this team around Juan Soto.”
Now reports are that the Nationals are open to moving him but with two years left on Soto’s deal, Washington has time but only so much. Just like all sports, the closer Soto gets to free agency, the less a team is going to give up because of the uncertainty of retaining his services.
It’s why time is on Soto’s decision to keep his options open makes sense.
