Nationals' Juan Soto Won't Be Traded Despite Rumors, Agent Scott Boras Says

The Washington Nationals sold off many of their top players last season and have started this season with a 13-26 record.

Juan Soto will not be one of the departing players.

Scott Boras, his agent, told Jon Heyman of the New York Post that the trade wasn't happening.

One person within the Nats organization simply responded to Heyman regarding the Soto trade speculation.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Nationals wouldn't want to deal the young star. He finished as the runner-up in the NL Freshman of the Year voting in 2018, and has finished in the top 10 in NL Most Valuable Player voting in each of the past three seasons.

He is hitting.250 with eight homers, 11 runs, and a.884 OPS in 39 games this season. He slashed.313/.465/.534 last season and.361/.490/.695 in 47 games in 2020 and remains one of the most dangerous players at the plate.

He is under club control through the 2024 season, so there is no reason for the Nationals to move him now.

A number of teams would be willing to pay an enormous price for the young game-changer, who already helped lead the Nationals to a World Series title in 2019. The Nationals could replenish their farm system.

The issue is that any prospect they got in return is unlikely to be as good as Soto. It makes more sense to build around him since he is still young and willing to commit to the team for a long time.