Nats to keep Soto for rest of season if asking price not met

It is not believed to be a sure thing that the Washington Nationals trade Juan Soto. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Nationals to keep star OF Juan Soto for rest of season if asking price not met

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 8/1/22

Monday is the eve of the MLB trade deadline. The Washington Nationals are reportedly unafraid to letting the Juan Soto sweepstakes go by this summer without any winners.

While the #Padres, #STLCards and #Dodgers remain squarely in the hunt for Juan Soto, the #Nationals are making it clear to teams with 33 hours left until the trade deadline:
Plain and simple: If no one meets their asking price, they will simply keep him for the rest of the year.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 1, 2022

It was reported Friday that the Nationals were going to make one final contract extension offer to the two-time All-Star. According to MLB insider Hector Gomez's report, however, if Soto didn't accept the final offer, he would be traded by the deadline.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale also added Monday morning that while the Padres and Cardinals have been considered the front-runners for landing Soto, the Dodgers have been much more "aggressive" lately in their trade proposals.

Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said last week that the team was talking with "several teams" regarding the Home Run Derby champion's availability.

Soto has hit 20 home runs and recorded a league-leading 88 walks, while registering a .243/.403/.475 slash line across 341 at-bats this season.

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