Davey Martinez got emotional and even a bit nostalgic when he spoke with reporters in the immediate aftermath of the club’s franchise-altering trade of Juan Soto (and Josh Bell) to the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline on August 2, 2022.
Soto debuted in the majors as a 19-year-old in 2018, in Martinez’s first season on the bench as the skipper in the nation’s capital, and they won a World Series together in ‘19, so it’s understandable Martinez reacted like he did when the then-22, now-25-year-old Soto was actually dealt (along with Bell) in the blockbuster deal which brought back five high-end prospects from the Padres’ system (CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, and Jarlin Susana), and a major league bat (Luke Voit).