“If they trade Juan Soto that would be the most significant trade of a great young player since Babe Ruth” - MLB Insider Buster Olney discusses potential Juan Soto trade and its similarities with Babe Ruth getting traded to New York Yankees
Washington Nationals star outfielder Juan Soto has spent his entire career being compared to Major League Baseball's greatest athletes. When he was called up, Juan Soto was compared to former Washington Nationals superstar and two-time National League Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper. When he was elected to his first National League All-Star team, Juan Soto was compared to Los Angeles superstar Mookie Betts. Now, when discussing the swirling trade rumors surrounding the Washington Nationals outfielder, ESPN's Buster Olney has an entirely new comparison.
On the "Baseball Tonight" podcast, Buster Olney compared any trade involving Juan Soto to New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth
Olney did not mince his words:
“If they trade Juan Soto that would be the most significant trade of a great young player since Babe Ruth”
That is immensely high praise for an outfielder who hasn't even celebrated his 24th birthday. Juan Soto has enjoyed a splendid career to this point. He's already approaching 20 wins above replacement as a result of a career .972 OPS and a .297 batting average. He's managed to accomplish this feat with relatively little protection in his lineup. But is that enough to be compared to New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth? Perhaps.
Buster Olney really stirred the pot by saying that the Nationals might trade Juan Soto before the end of the season...
If that happens, they might as well move the Nats back to Montreal, because NO ONE will come to Nats Park anymore. Talk about alienating the fanbase.
"Buster Olney really stirred the pot by saying that the Nationals might trade Juan Soto before the end of the season..." - @ Kyle Ashton
While Soto hasn't reached the heights and respect that Babe Ruth achieved at a similar point in his career, Olney has a point in terms of the state that each of the franchises were in during the player's prime. While Ruth was the embodiment of baseball's Hercules, the Boston Red Sox were frequent contenders for the World Series. The Washington Nationals during Juan Soto's tenure, were (for the most part) competing for division titles in the National League East. Ruth's trade cratered a dynasty that the Boston Red Sox would take nearly a century to recover from. Is it so crazy to believe that the Washington Nationals would be equally as likely to fall into a championship drought? Absolutely.
Here’s a list of all the players (since 1901) to have more than 1,000 plate appearances on the road and an OPS over 1.000 in those road games:
Babe Ruth (1.147)
Lou Gehrig (1.102)
Ted Williams (1.082)
Barry Bonds (1.037)
Joe DiMaggio (1.015)
Juan Soto (1.001)
Decent company.
"Here's a list of all the players (since 1901) to have more than 1,000 plate appearances on the road and an OPS over 1.000 in those road games" - @ Dan Kolko
For starters, look at how the Washington Nationals have operated over the last decade. The team had a core of Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, and Stephen Strasburg for nearly half of a decade and barely pulled themselves into contention. It was only after sneaking into the playoffs as a Wild Card team in 2019 that the team was able to make a miracle run to its first World Series title. Secondly, look at the Washington Nationals' ability to acquire similar talent to Soto. The team was unable to keep Bryce Harper in the nation's capital and had to ship off budding superstar infielder Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers due to the shortstop's reluctance to sign a long-term deal that would be laden with deferrals. So, is Soto equal to Babe Ruth? Certainly not at this point. However, would trading him doom the Nationals the same way it did the Red Sox around 100 years ago? Quite possibly.