Former Washington National Superstar Reportedly Seeking Huge Contract Terms

There is little secret as to who the most coveted free agent is this offseason and that’s Juan Soto, the former Washington Nationals star who, at times, has been connected to his former team.

Well, this demand from Soto may make it incredibly difficult for the Nationals to make a serious play. But, it also sounds awfully familiar.

Recently, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported that Soto is seeking a 15-year contract.

Even in baseball terms, that’s long. Only a handful of players have contracts longer than 10 years, and in some cases those players are less deserving than Soto.

But it also matches the duration of the deal the Nationals offered Soto back in 2022 when general manager Mike Rizzo sought to extend him through the rest of his arbitration seasons and keep him in town for his entire career.

That offer was for 15 years and $440 million.

Soto, smartly, rejected the offer if he wanted to test the market and get the most out of his earning power. It’s believed that Soto could ultimately fetch a deal in the neighborhood of $600-$700 million, which would put him in a stratosphere occupied by only the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani.

Soto’s former Yankees teammate, Aaron Judge, has the highest average annual contract value at $40 million. If applied to Soto’s reported demand it would come to $600 million.

"While a very short deal at super high annual salary could make some sense since he would still become a free agent again in his 20s, word is out that that doesn’t interest him, especially since he’s expected to receive opt-outs in any long deal," Heyman wrote.

Soto has reportedly received five offers, all from large-market teams — the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox and Blue Jays.

The Nationals would, undoubtedly, love to have him back. Washington also has massive payroll flexibility. It currently fields a roster that, even if it maxed out, would feature a payroll around $35 million, as most of the roster is made up of pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players.

Soto is coming off his final season of team control as he slashed .288/.419/.569/.989 with 41 home runs and 109 RBI. He combined with Judge and the rest of the Yankees to get New York to the World Series, where it lost to the Dodgers.

Soto is just 26 years old and has already had an incredible career since he broke in with the Nationals in 2018 at age 19. While he's never been an MVP, he's been selected an All Star four times, finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting five times, won five silver sluggers and helped the Nationals win the 2019 World Series, the first in franchise history.