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ESPN’s Jeff Passan believes there’s an 80 percent chance that the Washington Nationals move star outfielder Juan Soto before the Tuesday no-waiver trade deadline, per comments made on the Dan Patrick Show on Friday.
Dan Patrick Show @dpshow
“If he [Mike Rizzo] continues to stick to the ask that he’s put out to teams up until this point, I’m not sure Juan Soto is going anywhere. He’s been asking for 125% of Juan Soto’s value.”<br><br>-<a href=”https://twitter.com/JeffPassan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@JeffPassan</a> discusses the likelihood of Juan Soto getting moved<a href=”https://t.co/A7PJZRSpqn”>https://t.co/A7PJZRSpqn</a> <a href=”https://t.co/Iym4QKfjBD”>pic.twitter.com/Iym4QKfjBD</a>
However, Passan’s remarks dropped with the caveat that Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has asked teams for “125 percent of Juan Soto’s value,” noting that he’s been looking for franchises to part with “five or six tippy-top prospects from every organization he’s been talking to.”
If Rizzo sticks with that line of thinking, then Passan said he’s not sure if Soto goes anywhere “for now.”
The ESPN reporter mentioned the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers as the “likeliest landing spots” if the Nats drop their asking price down a little. He also said that the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners were in the picture.
The Nats reportedly began entertaining trade offers for Soto after he rejected the team’s 15-year, $440 million contract proposal, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Hector Gomez of Z101 Digital reported Friday that the Nats plan to make one final offer to Soto but that they will trade him before the deadline if he does not accept.
Héctor Gómez @hgomez27
I can confirm: The <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nationals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Nationals</a> plan to make another offer to Juan Soto, which will be their last. If Soto does not accept, he will be traded before the deadline. <a href=”https://t.co/bkNzAwPDx9″>https://t.co/bkNzAwPDx9</a>
Soto is currently under team control through the 2024 season, but it appears his time with the team is coming to a close. His five years with the team include a 2019 World Series win, a 2021 National League MVP runner-up, a pair of All-Star appearances, two Silver Sluggers, the 2018 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up and the 2020 batting title.
That’s a great effort for a 23-year-old who’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory. Naturally, Rizzo will want a haul back for Soto if he can’t come to terms with the star on a long-term deal to stick in town.
For the season, Soto has hit 20 home runs alongside 45 RBI and an .880 OPS.
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