NL East

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Wednesday that he has no ill will toward outfielder Juan Soto after the All-Star turned down a massive contract offer.

Appearing on 106.7 The Fan's The Sports Junkies, Rizzo made it clear that he has no contempt for Soto: "We made a historical offer to him and he turned it down. Am I upset with Juan Soto for doing that? No. I've known the kid since he was 15. I know him as good as anybody in the world. This isn't personal. This is business."

Rizzo did take issue with the fact that the contract situation leaked to the media, however, saying he was disappointed by it and wanted to know who leaked the information. He added, "Unequivocally, it did not come from me for sure or our front office."

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported two weeks ago that Soto turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer, leading the Nats to make him available in trade talks.

If the Nationals do trade Soto prior to the Aug. 2 deadline, they won't use it as an opportunity to dump salary on another team. Rizzo said Wednesday that he won't "dilute the return for any player by including a bad contract."

That answer was in response to a question about struggling starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, who is due $59 million combined between the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

At 23, Soto is among the top young stars in baseball, and he will command a ton of interest and a huge return on the trade market.

Despite his age, Soto is in his fifth MLB season, and he has earned two All-Star selections, two Silver Slugger Awards, one batting title and one World Series championship.

He is also coming off a scintillating performance during the All-Star festivities in Los Angeles last week, winning the Home Run Derby.

The Dominican Republic native set career highs with 34 home runs and 110 RBI in 2019 en route to winning a World Series and hit a career-high .351 in 2020. He finished second in the National League MVP voting last season with a slash line of .313/.465/.534, plus 29 homers and 95 RBI.

Soto got off to a slow start this season, but he has come on in recent weeks and is slashing .245/.401/.485 with 20 home runs and 45 RBI for a Nationals team that has struggled to a 34-65 record, placing them last in the NL East.

Given how far the Nationals have fallen since winning the World Series less than three years ago, a full-on rebuild is likely their best bet, and trading Soto would give them plenty of quality building blocks.

Even though teams are aware Soto has rejected multiple contract offers, the Nationals still have some leverage in potential trade negotiations since he is controllable for a few more years.

He isn't eligible to become a free agent until 2025 since he is arbitration-eligible in 2023 and 2024, meaning the Nats can wait for the perfect offer.

Until then, Soto will remain the Nationals' main attraction, as he is one of the few reasons to watch the team during a miserable campaign.

The New York Mets are looking to make a splash at this year's trade deadline, and that has led the club to making a call on one player that is viewed by many as being untouchable.

Mets general manager Billy Eppler has been in contact with the Los Angeles Angels about phenom Shohei Ohtani, according to Jim Bowden of CBS Sports. And while the Halos have maintained that they have no interest in moving him, they are still fielding calls.

The Mets have never been shy about pursuing star players. For example, the club signed star shortstop Francisco Lindor in April 2021 and also landed three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer ahead of the 2022 campaign.

Eppler's interest, in particular, is not surprising as he served as general manager of the Angels from 2015 to 2020, signing Ohtani in 2017.

In addition, Eppler has a good relationship with Ohtani, per Bowden, and he would be interested in bringing the two-way star to New York at any point, whether it's before the Aug. 2 trade deadline or when he becomes a free agent after the 2023 season.

Reports about Ohtani's future in L.A. have grown in recent weeks as the Angels continue to struggle, dropping to fourth in the AL West with a 40-56 record, 23.5 games behind the first-place Houston Astros.

Bowden also mentioned Ohtani has a desire to win now and would be hesitant to re-sign with the Angels in 2023 unless they become legitimate World Series contenders. If he becomes a free agent, he'll likely be one of the most sought-after players in baseball history.

Ohtani is having another solid season despite the Angels' struggles, hitting .256/.346/.486 with 20 home runs, 57 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 93 games. He is also 9-5 on the mound with a 2.80 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 134 strikeouts in 93.1 innings across 16 starts.

If the Mets added Ohtani, they'd be among the World Series favorites this year as they already lead the NL East with a 59-37 record, two games ahead of the defending champion Atlanta Braves.

He'd join a star-studded rotation that includes Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker and eventually Jacob deGrom, and would also give the team an added boost on offense at DH.

However, the Mets will face some tough competition for the Japanese superstar, who has already won an MVP, Silver Slugger award and is a two-time All-Star. Simply put, he won't come cheap.

The Washington Nationals are still fielding offers for star outfielder Juan Soto ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline, and the return for the slugger could be historic.

MLB Network's Mark Feinsand reported Tuesday that he's been told a deal for Soto "is going to be the biggest package you've ever seen returned for a player."

"One of the executives who I spoke to said 'This is going to be the biggest package you've ever seen returned for a player.'"@Feinsand with the latest on Nationals 23-year-old phenom Juan Soto.#MLBCentral | @LaurenShehadi pic.twitter.com/PEpJVEkUCK

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 26, 2022

Feinsand continued:

"You've never seen a player of Juan Soto's caliber, with two-and-a-half years of control, hit the market. So, you're looking at a package of three to five of a team's top prospects in addition to one or two controllable young players who are big league ready. ... But you're talking about a package of four to six players, two or three of whom can join the Nationals roster and make an impact right now."

Feinsand said he spoke to 17 different front office executives to get their thoughts on where Soto will land. The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers were voted as the leading candidates to acquire the 23-year-old.

Soto led the Nationals to a 4-1 win over the Dodgers on Monday, going 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI. The 2022 Home Run Derby champion is slashing .248/.404/.895 with 20 homers and 45 RBI through 95 games.

While Soto is the most coveted player available on the trade market, there's a chance that teams will struggle to meet Washington's asking price. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Tuesday that the Nationals could hold on to Soto and try to deal him after the season:

"On the other hand, another executive said, the impediments to a Soto deal are so significant, he sees the next week more as a feeling-out period--a precursor to an offseason move. If the Nationals don't move Soto now, they have two more months of scouting and data analysis of minor leaguers to consider."

Whether Soto is dealt by next week or during the offseason, it's clear that Washington is intent on rebuilding, and trading its star player can help the team do just that.

The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs have engaged in trade discussions that would send catcher Willson Contreras and reliever David Robertson to Flushing in exchange for multiple prospects, per Sports Illustrated's Pat Ragazzo.

However, the Mets are unwilling to include top prospects Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty in a deal. Alvarez is the team's No. 1 prospect, while Baty is ranked as the team's No. 2 prospect.

An agreement between the Mets and Cubs was "not yet close" as of last weekend, per Ragazzo. New York is "committed" to acquiring Contreras, who "appears to be their current focus" ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

The Mets aren't necessarily in need of a catcher with Jared McCann and Tomas Nido behind the plate. However, Contreras could be an interesting option as the club's designated hitter alongside the newly acquired Daniel Vogelbach, who has been particularly bad against lefties this year, hitting .141/.267/.156 with seven RBI.

Contreras has actually hit lefties better than righties this year, and over his career, slashing .284/.398/.676 with seven home runs and 12 RBI. So, it's no surprise the Mets might be interested in pairing him with Vogelbach.

Overall, Contreras is batting .258/.374/.473 with 14 home runs and 37 RBI this season.

As for Robertson, he would be a welcomed addition in the bullpen as the Mets are currently down Trevor May, who was placed on the 60-day injured list in May with a stress reaction in his right humerus.

Robertson has had a solid 2022 season, posting a 1.83 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 50 strikeouts in 39.1 innings across 35 games. Acquiring him would help stabilize New York's bullpen and help the franchise gear up for a potential battle for the NL East title.

The Mets currently sit atop the division with a 59-37 record, but the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves are just two games behind with a 58-40 record.

In addition to Contreras and Robertson, the Mets have also been linked to Baltimore Orioles veteran Trey Mancini and Washington Nationals first baseman Josh Bell in recent weeks.

One week away from the Major League Baseball trade deadline, it seems like there's a good chance that Juan Soto will play for a different team soon.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, one anonymous league executive believes the Washington Nationals' ongoing search for a franchise buyer will put more pressure on current ownership to deal the 23-year-old superstar.

"The Nationals currently are up for sale, and the notion that new ownership's first move would be to trade a future Hall of Famer in his early prime, the executive said, is problematic. Dealing Soto now, he said, would offer the new owner a clean slate," Passan wrote.

Soto was a surprise entrant in the trade-deadline sweepstakes. Amid rumors early in the season that Washington could shop him, general manager Mike Rizzo said in a June radio interview the team wasn't looking to move him.

"We are not trading Juan Soto," Rizzo told The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan (h/t ESPN.com). "We made it clear to his agent and to the player."

On July 16, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported the Nationals plan to entertain trade offers for Soto after he rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract extension.

The deal would have surpassed Mike Trout's 12-year, $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels as the richest in MLB history. The $29.3 million average annual value of the Nationals' offer to Soto would rank 17th among current contracts, ahead of Jose Altuve and Giancarlo Stanton (both at $29 million per season).

The Lerner family, who has owned the Nationals since 2006, announced in April it was exploring a sale of the franchise.

On the same day Rosenthal's report came out, Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted the Nationals are "almost sure to sell" for at least $2 billion, but there's a "behind-the scenes goal" of getting that figure up to $3 billion.

The Nationals have collapsed since beating the Houston Astros to win the 2019 World Series. They are likely going to have their third consecutive last-place finish in the National League East this season. Their 33-65 record is the worst mark in MLB.

Trading Soto, who is under team control through 2024, could bring back multiple high-level prospects and allow the Nationals to get back on track sooner than expected.

A two-time All-Star, Soto is hitting .248/.404/.491 with 20 homers and 45 RBI in 95 games this season. He has posted an on-base percentage of at least .400 in each of his first four full seasons from 2018 to 2021.

The Washington Nationals have the most coveted player on the trade market in star right fielder Juan Soto, but another slugger on the team is also reportedly drawing interest.

Andy Martino of SNY reported Monday that the Nationals are fielding calls for first baseman Josh Bell with the hope of making a deal before finding a landing spot for Soto.

"One league source with knowledge of Bell’s market estimated that five teams were pursuing him, the Astros, Brewers and Mets among them, and that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo was focused on completing a deal so he could move on to trading superstar Juan Soto," Martino wrote.

A 29-year-old switch hitter, Bell is slashing .305/.388/.496 with 13 home runs and 51 RBI in 96 games. He's the only every-day starter on the team with a batting average of at least .285.

Bell is in his second year with Washington after spending the first five seasons of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He's set to become a free agent after this season. Martino noted "there's a sense around the league that Bell is soon to move."

While the Nationals appear to be focused on dealing Bell, the market for Soto is also reportedly heating up. Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported Sunday that the St. Louis Cardinals "are viewed by rivals as a potential front-runner" to land the 23-year-old. He's also reportedly being pursued by the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners.

The Cardinals are believed to have the edge over other teams in trade discussions because of their strong farm system.

"The Nats are an organization that relies heavily on scouting, and there's word they like a lot of the Cardinals' young players and prospects," Heyman and Sherman wrote. "The Cardinals line up for what the Nationals want—not just prospects, but young, controllable players already in the majors."

If the Nationals move Soto and Bell, it will kick off a massive rebuild. Washington (32-65) is in last place in the NL East and could use some changes.

Don't expect to see Josh Bell in a New York Mets uniform by the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

Andy Martino of SNY reported Monday there is "no momentum in trade talks between the Mets and Washington Nationals" regarding the first baseman. Martino noted Bell would be a "redundancy" after New York acquired slugger Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

Martino also pointed out New York is more likely to land other trade candidates such as Trey Mancini, C.J. Cron, Willson Contreras or perhaps even J.D. Martinez.

That the Mets would be in buying mode ahead of the deadline is no surprise.

They are in first place in the National League East at 59-37 with the opportunity to challenge for their first championship since 1986. The defending champion Atlanta Braves are just 1.5 games back, so any help the Mets can add could go a long way in the division race.

Yet it appears Bell will not be the one to provide that help.

The 2019 All-Star is slashing .305/.388/.496 with 13 home runs and 51 RBI this season for the Nationals after he launched 27 long balls a year ago. Power has never been a question for Bell, who hit a career-best 37 homers during his All-Star season with the Pirates.

However, the Mets added some power when they sent relief pitcher Colin Holderman to Pittsburgh for Vogelbach.

Vogelbach also made the 2019 All-Star Game with the Seattle Mariners and hit 30 home runs. He is slashing .229/.340/.429 with 12 home runs and 34 RBI in 76 games for the Pirates and Mets this season and provides pop on the left-hand side of the plate.

New York is 19th in the league in home runs with 93, so adding Vogelbach could improve one of its weaknesses as it pursues a playoff spot.

The New York Yankees are reportedly exploring the possibility of trading for Washington Nationals star Juan Soto.

According to Jack Curry of YES Network, the American League East team "reached out to express interest in" a potential trade. The move put the ball in Washington's court as it decides what would be an acceptable trade package for a 23-year-old under team control through the 2024 campaign.

Soto isn't the only slugger on New York's radar, as its own star in Aaron Judge is set for free agency after this season.

ESPN's Buster Olney reported Saturday that Judge is more of a priority, which isn't a surprise since the 30-year-old is the face of the franchise and has told reporters he wants to stay with the Bronx Bombers.

Still, it's not every day a player of Soto's caliber becomes available. He is in the early stages of his prime, and the Yankees or another team could make him a franchise cornerstone for a decade-plus.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported last Saturday that the Nationals were willing to listen to trade proposals because Soto rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract offer.

Many teams probably don't have the prospects or financial resources to commit to both Soto and Judge, but the Yankees operate in the No. 1 market with their own television channel and a payroll that is almost always among the tops in the league.

Forbes ranked them as Major League Baseball's most valuable franchise at $6 billion in March.

Soto is a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger who has already won a batting title and World Series crown. New York has a World Series-caliber roster already, as evidenced by its MLB-best 65-30 record, and adding the Nationals star ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline would be quite the blow for other contenders.

The New York Mets pursuit of a designated hitter has led them to engage in trade discussions with the Pittsburgh Pirates for slugger Daniel Vogelbach, according to SNY's Andy Martino.

New York is "working to trade" Dominic Smith and would look to also move J.D. Davis if it can land Vogelbach, per Martino.

Martino also noted the Colorado Rockies' C.J. Cron and the Washington Nationals' Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz are also targets for New York.

Vogelbach has flourished against right-handed pitching this season, posting a .260/.365/.532 slash line with 12 home runs, 27 RBI and 29 walks in 68 games. However, he has struggled against lefties, hitting just .141/.267/.156 with seven RBI and 11 walks.

The 29-year-old would still be an upgrade over Smith and Davis, even if he only plays against righties.

Smith has appeared in 58 games this season, and his splits against both righties and lefties aren't great. Overall, he's hitting .194/.276/.284 with no home runs, 17 RBI and 12 walks.

Davis has been a little better, slashing .234/.325/.345 with three home runs, 19 RBI, one stolen base and 20 walks in 62 games. However, the Mets just haven't gotten enough out of him this year.

Vogelbach has been in MLB since 2016. He played for the Seattle Mariners from 2016 up until the 2020 season, when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays and later the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Florida native spent the 2021 season in Milwaukee before joining the Pirates for the 2022 campaign. He has a $1.5 million team option for the 2023 campaign.

The Pirates are third in the NL Central with a 39-54 record, 11 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, and are expected to be sellers at this year's deadline. Realistically, the Mets shouldn't have to give up too much to land Vogelbach.

The Mets are first in the NL East with a 58-35 record, 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Braves. Adding a slugger like Vogelbach would help the club hold off a potential late-season push by the defending World Series champions.

The Washington Nationals didn't charter a flight for Juan Soto to attend the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles this week, but they did ask the Atlanta Braves if he could travel to the city with their All-Stars following their game Sunday, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman.

Atlanta didn't let Soto and Nats manager Dave Martinez fly on its team plane to the All-Star Game, as the flight was full, per Heyman. Soto ended up flying to L.A. on a commercial flight.

Heyman added, "the Braves were smart avoid any suggestion of impropriety via extra time with an available superstar" amid trade rumors.

Last weekend, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Soto rejected a 15-year, $440 million extension from the club and that the team would entertain trade offers for the superstar.

Afterward, the Nationals did not charter a flight for Soto to attend this year's All-Star Game. Soto's agent, Scott Boras, told Sports Illustrated:

"The Atlanta Braves arrived (in Los Angeles) five hours earlier than Juan Soto did. You know why? Because their team chartered a plane. Juan Soto had to fly on a commercial flight and wait in an airport for two hours and get here at 1:30 in the morning and have to compete in the Home Run Derby. And that’s something that Major League Baseball did not take care of and that’s something that the Washington Nationals did not take care of.”

Despite a delay in his travels to L.A., Soto went on to win the Home Run Derby.

The 23-year-old is expected to become one of the highest-paid players in baseball on his next contract.

Seven teams have made preliminary offers for Soto, including the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and New York Mets, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

The 23-year-old two-time All-Star is on a Hall of Fame track after four-plus campaigns. This season, he's hitting .250/.405/.497 with 20 home runs, 43 RBI, five stolen bases and 79 walks in 91 games.

The MLB trade deadline is August 2, and if the Nationals don't receive an offer they view as worthy of Soto's value, they will be content to hold on to him, as he is under team control for two more seasons via arbitration eligibility.

Any team that is willing to trade for Soto must also be willing to acquire starting pitcher Patrick Corbin. According to The Athletic's Jim Bowden, the Nats want "multiple major leaguers and top prospects" and to "offload" Corbin's contract.