Juan Soto and the Washington Nationals are unlikely to reach an agreement before MLB's trade deadline.
The 23-year-old superstar turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract with no deferred payments, meaning he either knows he can get way more in free agency, or he wants absolutely no part of the Nationals organization.
Whatever the case, he might be moved before the clock strikes 6:00 P.M.
It's no secret that the Los Angeles Dodgers are keeping tabs on Soto. Nonetheless, The Athletic's Jim Bowden believes that the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres are actually leading the race for the Dominican:
"The Juan Soto sweepstakes are rounding third and heading for home with the Padres and Cardinals in the lead and the Dodgers somehow staying in the conversation," wrote Bowden.
That's why Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has reportedly made every single one of their top-notch prospects available in a potential trade for Soto:
"The Dodgers are still engaged in conversations with Washington and have no untouchables in their farm system, including right-handed pitcher Bobby Miller, catcher Diego Cartaya and outfielder Andy Pages," added Bowman.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also thinks the Dodgers could end up beating their competition for Soto, especially if the Padres wind up making another move first:
"Don’t rule out the Dodgers on Soto. They have been in contact with the Nationals, and if the Padres make a splash somewhere else, it might create the opening L.A. needs to pull off another deadline stunner," Rosenthal reported. "All this assumes that (Padres GM) Preller is willing to concede on Soto (unlikely, particularly if he fears the Dodgers are in the mix) and the Nationals indeed are willing to trade him (something no one will know until 6 p.m. Tuesday)."
It's been a tough couple of weeks for the World Series champion. He admitted that he never thought he'd be in this position and expressed his disappointment after the Nationals claimed that he wasn't going to be traded:
“It’s been crazy,” Soto said. “I mean, things that I never thought were going to happen to me. So first time going through it, it’s been pretty tough.”
At the end of the day, it's all business and the Nationals need to do whatever is in their best interest, just like he did by turning down that massive contract:
