While fans of every club except for the Los Angeles Angels, who have already made a flurry of moves, await their team to make legitimate free agent splashes, let's take a look at how the Juan Soto sweepstakes are progressing, and if the Washington Nationals have any chance at a reunion with their former franchise player.
The latest news and speculations surrounding all things Juan Soto is that the NL East Rival Philadelphia Phillies, aka Washington Nationals North, plan to meet with him at some point in the near future. While it would be shocking to see the Phillies go out and actually make a legitimate push to sign him due to the significant financial obligations already made to Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Nola, among others, you can never rule out an owner or ownership group of a team that desperately wants to get over the hump.
It was also widely reported that his meeting with the Boston Red Sox last week went well, and he has already met with both the New York Mets and New York Yankees, both of whom are considered the favorites to sign him as well. Another player that has entered the conversation that would be horrible for the baseball universe is the World Series Champions themselves, the Los Angeles Dodgers. I'll say it right now, if they somehow sign Soto and have over $1 billion committed to just 2 players, there will be a lockout at the end of the current collective bargaining agreement before the 2027 season...but that's another can of worms that I won't get into right now.
We also have gained some new insight as to what Soto's meetings with potential clubs look like, as, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, “All of Soto’s meetings have included representatives from club ownership, along with front-office executives and the team’s manager, sources said,” Feinsand wrote. “Convincing Soto that their team represents his best landing spot is about more than money; according to Sean McAdam of MassLive, Soto asked the Red Sox about the club’s commitment to winning, its ballpark and facilities, and its process of evaluating players.”
As for how the Nats fit into this equation with the big spenders? Well, they really might not have a seat at the table, and honestly it might not be the worst thing for the future of this organization. It appears that the Nats might have their sights set on spreading the money around to a few other free agents, and with the holes in this current team, there is nothing wrong with taking the AAV that Soto would get in one year on his deal and spread it around to 2 or 3 big-time acquisitions that can help this franchise win for years to come.
But if it were to happen...we know that Nationals' General Manager Mike Rizzo has at least touched base with his agent, Scott Boras, to discuss Soto and other free agents on the open market. To our knowledge, that is the only true effort that the club has made in terms of moving the ball forward with the superstar outfielder at this time, and if the Soto sweepstakes came and went without another big piece of news surrounding the Nationals I would not be surprised. At this point, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he is going to a large market club, it's just a matter of who will win the bidding war.
Would you like to see the Nationals make more of an effort to pursue Juan Soto? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.