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Washington Nationals star outfielder Juan Soto turned the MLB world upside down when he rejected the club's 15-year, $440 million contract offer. The Nationals then revealed that they would be listening to trade offers for the star slugger. In the midst of the Soto trade rumors, the Nationals made a curious move, electing to sign former MLB All-Star outfielder David Dahl to a minor league contract, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Nats agree to deal with OF David Dahl. No one really qualifies as Soto insurance but interesting they added a veteran outfielder now.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 22, 2022
As Heyman noted, it's hard to consider David Dahl as insurance for Juan Soto. However, it is a very curious move to make with trade rumors swirling around the Nationals.
It's certainly possible that Washington, who has gotten very little production out of their outfield behind Soto, is simply looking to add depth to the position.
Dahl, 28, made the All-Star team back in 2019, as he hit .302 with 15 homers and a .877 OPS for the Colorado Rockies. He's been unable to find much success outside of Coors Field, however, having posted an underwhelming .569 OPS for the Texas Rangers in 2021. Dahl hasn't appeared on a big league roster this year.
Plus, Dahl is headed for the minor leagues, so there's no guarantee he'll be on the Nationals roster anytime soon. Still, it's a move sure to garner even more speculation for a Juan Soto trade in the near future.
ESPN's Buster Olney has reported that rival executives believe Juan Soto will be traded before the August 2 deadline. Then they go out and add an outfielder? Somewhere, NBA reporter Brian Windhorst is saying “why would the Nationals do that?”
