Major League Baseball got its answer to the NBA’s summer of intrigue with Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell over the weekend. On Saturday, Nationals superstar outfielder Juan Soto rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract extension with the club, and is consequently available for trade.
The news led to immediate speculation about Soto’s future, especially among fans of the biggest spenders in the sport: teams like the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers. While the Nationals still have team control of Soto until he hits free agency in 2025, and thus can decide to send him to whichever team gives the biggest trade package, it stands to reason that a franchise like that would feel good about its chance to re-sign the 23-year-old slugger and thus give up a haul of prospects and other valuable assets to land him.