Washington Nationals star Juan Soto has been in the middle of trade speculation in recent days.
Details emerged about the Nats’ latest extension offer to the outfielder a few days ago: he rejected a 15-year, $440 million pact to stay in the nation’s capital.
After that, the relationship between player and team has soured and the Nationals are said to be entertaining trade offers for the young phenom, who still has two-and-a-half years of control remaining before hitting the market.
One of the teams linked to him has been the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While playing in Los Angeles on Monday, in what ended up as a Nationals 4-1 victory, Soto had a moment with a young Dodgers fan.
A young kid in attendance was in the outfield with a woman, presumably his mother.
Soto came in to the outfield wall and gifted the young fan a ball.
Juan Soto made a new friend in LA pic.twitter.com/k3Sa83D4eH
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 26, 2022
Juan Soto, Future Dodger? It’s Possible
It was a cool gesture by one of the game’s best players, one that the lady, and the child, probably won’t forget.
Soto, who is hitting .248/.404/.491 with 20 home runs this season, is probably considering Los Angeles as a potential future home.
The Dodgers could certainly put together a good package for the Nationals to consider: they have some great prospects (Diego Cartaya, Bobby Miller, and Ryan Pepiot are good examples), and young major leaguers like Gavin Lux, Dustin May, and others.
Perhaps more importantly, they have the financial muscle to offer him a wealthy extension, perhaps even around $500 million, if they get the chance.
The Dodgers can’t be counted out on any star-level player that becomes available, and this is very much that case.
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