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The Washington Nationals are in a predicament. The club owns the second worst record in the National League- and in all of baseball- yet they possess one of the game's best players in outfielder Juan Soto. There's a massive difference between the talent of Soto and that of the Nationals roster, as the All-Star owns 1.1 of the team's -4.9 Wins Above Replacement level.
To put it simply, the Nationals are a sinking ship, but if it wasn't for Soto bailing them out with a bucket, they'd have sunk already. That brings the franchise to a harsh reality: they're going nowhere in the 2022 MLB season.
It's a hard one for fans to stomach, given that this team ran through the National League and won the World Series just three years ago. However, with the 14th-ranked lineup in baseball that hasn't been able to score enough runs to mask one of the worst pitching staffs in the league, it's time for Washington to officially kick-start the rebuild.
The Nationals have a couple of trade chips on the roster, such as designated hitter Nelson Cruz or first baseman Josh Bell. The 29-year-old Bell, who is batting a career-high .316 at the dish and has one-year remaining on his contract, would make perfect sense as a trade chip.
But if the Nationals are going to embark on a full-scale rebuild, then they need to trade the 23-year-old Soto. It's not an easy decision, as the star outfielder looks like the modern-day Ted Williams and a surefire Hall of Famer- trading him would be insane, as argued by this guy.
Yet, with a stagnant farm system and one of the worst rosters in baseball, there aren't many other ways to get this team out of the rut they're currently in. That said, here's why the Nationals must trade Soto in the 2022 MLB season.
2 Reasons Nationals Must Trade Juan Soto In 2022 MLB Season
2. The Nationals must get something for Soto while they still can
The Nationals offered Soto a 13-year, $350 million contract to Soto this offseason, a deal that the star outfielder said he wasn't particularly impressed with. While Soto made sure to say that he sees his future in Washington, this less-than-stellar start can't have been lost on the star outfielder and his agent Scott Boras.
Soto, who has two arbitration-eligible years left before he is slated to hit free agency in 2024, has mentioned testing the market in two years. With Boras, who has dollar signs for eyes, as his agent, Soto could command an astronomical contract as a free agent, something the Nationals, whose payroll decreased the fifth-most from 2021 to 2022, may not be able to cough up.
Obviously, the Nationals want to keep Soto- and he wants to stay in Washington. However, if the 2022 MLB season is any indication, it's that this club is in for a long rebuild. The Nationals seem unlikely to be any closer to contention in 2024 than they are now.
If that's the case- loyalty aside- why would Soto stay? The Nationals need to get ahead of this situation and attempt to get something in return for Soto in the event that he decides to test free agency and leave for greener pastures.
1. The return for Soto would be massive
The Nationals, whose farm system checked in at 23 out of 30 teams in MLB.com's preseason rankings, could use a significant prospect boost. Trading Soto, the 2021 National League MVP runner-up and league leader in Wins Above Replacement since 2019, would net the club a massive return.
Consider this. The Oakland Athletics, who traded All-Star first baseman Matt Olson this past offseason, received each of the Braves' top two prospects and a top-10 prospect as well.
If Oakland could get that return for Olson- who is a fine player but not in the same stratosphere as Soto- what could the Nationals get in return for Soto?
No one knows for sure, though it would certainly be a franchise-changing return, and one that would instantly have the Nationals on the right path towards a rebuild.
Plus, there are several teams who are closer to contention than the Nationals, such as the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, who each possess some of the best prospect pools in baseball.
The Mariners or Giants, who are both loaded with high-end pitching prospects, would make sense as trade partners for Soto. With the team sinking further down the standings and prospect-loaded teams circling the waters, it's time for the Nationals to inject some life into their rebuild with a Juan Soto trade.
