Nats exec claims team won't trade Soto, ruling out Giants splash

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PHILADELPHIA -- You can stop asking what it would hypothetically take for the Giants to get Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals -- at least for a while. 

During an interview with The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan, Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo made it clear that the club has no intention to deal Soto, one of the best young hitters the game has ever seen. 

"We are not trading Juan Soto," Rizzo said. "We've made it clear to his agent and to the player."

That's about as clear as it gets, although it probably didn't even need to be said. There was never much to the Soto rumors, which started with a very brief mention on an ESPN podcast that some anonymous rival executives thought Soto might be moved this summer. The internet ran with it from there, and other fan bases quickly tried to figure out what it would take to get the 23-year-old outfielder.

"I understand these journalists have to fill a blank sheet of paper every day," Rizzo said. "It's a good thing to get some attention on a story, but we have every intention of building this team around Juan Soto and we've spoken to his agent many, many times. We recently sat with him when he was in Washington D.C. and made it clear that we're not interested in trading him. I guess the rest of the world just doesn't believe it, but that's our position." 

It's easy to see why there's a perception the Nationals may at some point deal Soto, who is represented by Scott Boras, the best agent in the sport and someone who generally takes his clients to free agency to get the highest possible dollar figure. Soto is a free agent after the 2024 season and thus far the Nationals -- who watched Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon bolt, and traded Trea Turner -- have not been successful in locking him into a long-term deal. 

RELATED: Crawford's wife recruiting Soto to Giants amid trade speculation

The Nationals have the worst winning percentage in the National League and not much young talent other than Soto, so dealing him for perhaps the biggest prospect haul in MLB history could jumpstart a rebuild. Of course, they would never be able to replace Soto, who finished second in the MVP race last year and has a .965 OPS through his first five MLB seasons. 

What would it take to pry that type of player away? Well, check back in the offseason. 

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