"You don't know what to trust... It's out of my hands" - When Juan Soto was heartbroken by Nationals trading him after $440M deal rejection
On Monday, news broke that Juan Soto will be signing a massive fifteen year deal with the Mets worth some $765 million. Although the deal will make Soto the highest-paid player in MLB history, it is not the first time in his career that such an opportunity presented itself.
After the 2021 season, Soto's then-team, the Washington Nationals, offered the Dominican a $440 million contract over fifteen years. Had Soto accepted it, he would have agreed to the largest deal in MLB history at the time.
"Juan Soto has rejected a 15 year, $440M offer from Nationals, per @KenRosenthal. Washington now plans to 'entertain' offers to trade for the star outfielder @BRWalkoff" - Bleacher Report
Less than six months after Soto's snub, the Nats traded him to the San Diego Padres in a blockbuster deal that involved seven other players.
In July 2022, about two weeks before Soto was traded to the Padres from the Washington Nationals, the New York Times ran a story on his refusal of the deal. As rumors of a trade from the club mounted, Soto was quoted on the anxiety-inducing nature of the situation, reportedly saying:
“It feels really uncomfortable, you don’t know what to trust. But at the end of the day it’s out of my hands.”
According to multiple sources, Soto's agent Scott Boras was the reason why Soto rejected the record-shattering sum. Boras is known for encouraging his clients to enter free agency to draw offers out of a variety of teams - rather than sitting down with just one suitor. At the end of 2022, Soto's one-year, $17.1 million deal with the Nats was due to expire.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Juan Soto would ink a one-year, $31 million contract with the New York Yankees. Despite the fact that the Bronx Bombers extended a one-year, $21.5 million qualifying offer, Soto followed Boras' playbook, and entered free agency.
Scott Boras built Juan Soto's image as a $765 million star
Boras, who has remained Soto's agent, told the New York Times in 2022 about the benefits of his client electing for free agency:
"Consequently, when you’re a player like Juan, you’re a winning player and you want to make sure there’s a lot more things than dollars and cents involved and who you’re going to work for and where you’re going to be for the majority.”
In the two and a half years since, Boras and Juan Soto have stuck to that strategy. Now, it looks like they are set to reap the benefits - many times over.