By reportedly declining a 15-year, $440 million contract extension offer, Juan Soto effectively made it clear that he has no interest in playing for the Nationals for very much longer.
Soto’s apparent desire to leave Washington, D.C. isn’t something Jonathan Papelbon is questioning. Not even a little bit.
The Soto-Nationals drama recently added a new wrinkle when it was reported that the organization “refused” to charter the generational talent a plane to Los Angeles for Major League Baseball All-Star Game festivities. Papelbon, who closed out his 13-year big league career with a season-plus in the nation’s capital, caught wind of the report and took the franchise to task with an expletive-filled tweet.
“Like I said earlier the Nats are the worst organization in MLB! I will say it for you Soto- (expletive) you, you bunch of petty ass (expletive) !” Papelbon tweeted Wednesday.
It might not be easy for the Nationals to act on relatively short notice and trade Soto by Aug. 2, as Washington probably is looking for an unprecedented trade return. But if the two-time All-Star is moved by the MLB trade deadline, oddsmakers believe the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers are the most likely landing spots.
