WASHINGTON — Nearly everywhere Juan Soto goes these days, questions are asked about his future.
But looking back on Monday, Soto found himself back where he made his major league debut in 2018, won a World Series in 2019, became one of the game’s best players and ultimately turned down a lucrative contract extension offer, now in the midst of the best season of his career as a 25-year-old in the final year of his contract.
When Soto returned to Nationals Park on Monday for the third time as a visitor, this time with the Yankees and just months away from free agency, the questions remained, but the “generational” talent stuck to business as usual.
“At the end of the day, I’m playing for the Yankees now,” Soto said in the visiting clubhouse before the Yankees-Nationals series opener. “I’m happy with where I’m at right now. We’ll see what happens in free agency.”
“They’re not going to let me go,” Soto said after the game, the day after the Yankee Stadium crowd reminded him he wanted to stay. [general manager Brian] When the pitcher, nicknamed “Cashman,” took his first at-bat, the fans at Nationals Park gave him a rapturous standing ovation, making it clear they welcomed him back this offseason.
Soto removed his helmet and saluted the crowd.
It remains to be seen whether the Nationals will make a serious move to acquire Soto, but they reportedly offered him a 15-year, $440 million extension in 2022, which he turned down and was traded to the Padres.
The team has an emerging young core, including promising prospect Dylan Cruz, who will make his MLB debut on Monday, and there seems to be plenty of room for ownership to spend money if they are willing.
For now, Soto returns to the nation’s capital in the midst of the best year of his career.
Though he’s been somewhat overshadowed by another historic season from Aaron Judge, Soto has benefited from stepping up to the plate in front of the AL MVP candidate, batting .299 with a 1.034 OPS and a career-high 37 home runs as of Monday.
Soto’s 7.8 fWAR was the best of any season of his career, with his best year coming in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Only Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. have trailed Soto in fWAR.
“In a lot of ways, he’s still just scratching the surface of his development as a player, which is humble given all the success he’s had,” manager Aaron Boone said, “but obviously he’s still young and just entering the prime of his career physically, but he’s also starting to reap the benefits of being a player that’s been in the league for a while.”
What makes Soto’s season even more impressive is the fact that it came in the final year of his contract, a time when the pressure can take its toll on some players. But that wasn’t the case for Soto.
“Again, at 25 years old, that’s not something that’s going to get in the way of him,” Boone said. “You could tell right away that this guy has his priorities where they need to be. He’s committed to being the best player he can be and winning. He showed that from the beginning of spring training. He really identified with his teammates. What’s important to him is winning baseball games every day. He knows he’s an integral part of that and he needs to be an integral part. He’s doing what needs to be done every day.”
Soto, who spent plenty of time talking with former coaches, staff and teammates before the game, is beloved here after helping the Nationals win the World Series in 2019.
The right fielder was asked about the similarities between that team and his current one, which is gunning for another title.
“The good energy and the atmosphere here isn’t going to be the same as what we felt with the 2019 Nationals, but it’s definitely close,” Soto said. “Everybody gets along, we play hard, and at the end of the day, that’s what we want to do when we come here. That’s what matters. Nothing else matters. It’s not about money or anything like that. We’re here to play baseball and win games.”
