Nationals Slugger Tried Convincing Juan Soto to Sign Franchise's Extension Offer

The Washington Nationals had two options for how they were going to operate this winter; become aggressive and spend money again or make fringe improvements.

So far, they have gone with the latter option.

While that might frustrate fans, it's the smart way for the organization and ownership group to go about things right now since they are still in a rebuild and are trying to see who out of their young stars can turn into franchise cornerstones.

But when Juan Soto hit the open market this offseason, it was hard not to dream about a potential reunion between the two sides.

Even though the notion of the phenom coming back to the franchise who signed him as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 16 was a long shot, the hope was the Nationals would insert themselves into the sweepstakes.

That never came to fruition, and when he signed a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, it was easy to see why.

Washington's current group of core players is a direct result of their decision to trade Soto at the trade deadline in 2022 to the San Diego Padres, getting back a massive return package of CJ Abrams, Mackenzie Gore, James Wood, Jarlin Susana, Robert Hassell III and Luke Voit.

The other piece of that deal was Josh Bell.

The slugger has been a bit of a journeyman since he was shipped out of town, having played for the Padres that season, then the Cleveland Guardians and Miami Marlins a year later and the Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks this past campaign.

The Nationals decided to bring him back this winter to boost their offensive profile.

Bell talked with reporters on Monday and he shared how he originally tried to convince Soto to sign the extension Washington offered him back in 2022 before they ultimately traded him.

"That was nuts. I was there when the Nats were trying to sign him. He like talked to me during the whole thing and obviously we have the same agent ... But year, I was the voice in his ear that was like 'Maybe you should sign it,'" he said.

The Nationals reportedly offered him a 15-year, $440 million extension, something he turned down which started the process of betting on himself in San Diego before they traded him to the New York Yankees ahead of this past season.

Soto's decision worked out for him since he signed the record-setting deal, but Washington fans and the organization certainly wish he would have listened to Bell's advice to stay with the franchise.