“I’ll have another chance to get another $440 million offer.”
The San Diego Padres are tying up long-term contracts for the last 1-2 years. What strategy will you take for Juan Soto (25), who was acquired from the Washington Nationals on the trade deadline for the 2022 season? Soto will qualify as a free agent in the 2024-2025 offseason. There is still time in San Diego.
After debuting in Washington in 2018, Soto was called a genius hitter. Except for 2020, when the season was shortened due to Corona 19, he hit more than 20 home runs every year, and basically took an OPS of 0.900. The 2020 OPS was 1.185.
However, Soto suffered from extreme sluggishness in 2022. In 101 games he played for Washington, he had a batting average of .246, 21 home runs, 91 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.893. He wasn’t bad, but he fell slightly short of Soto’s name. After he was decisively traded to San Diego, he had a batting average of 0.236, 6 home runs, 16 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.778 in 52 games.
The problem is that the downturn showed signs of continuing this season. In April, the batting average was 0.217, 5 homers, 11 RBIs, 19 runs, and an OPS of 0.803. The average is too low. The analysis of the American media is that in San Diego, while watching this process, they were skeptical about giving Soto a long-term contract.
Soto turned down Washington’s 15-year, $440 million (approximately 587.6 billion won) contract extension because he was confident that other teams could win contracts of that level or more. However, his sluggishness lasted for a long time, and it seems that San Diego started to run his calculator.
The Athletic’s Dennis Lin said in a Q&A corner with San Diego fans on the 11th (hereinafter Korean time), “The possibility of Soto’s long-term contract in San Diego has declined slightly. He will have a chance to get another $440 million offer.” It is expected to enter the FA market in 2024-2025.
In San Diego, there is still time. Next year, you can think about your relationship with Soto and your future. Rather, there is an analysis that if he succeeds in recruiting Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), he will give up Soto. Dennis Lin also did not see the possibility of Ohtani moving to San Diego, but predicted that San Diego would jump into Ohtani’s scout this winter. As such, there are many variables in whether Soto and San Diego will conclude a long-term contract.토토사이트
Interestingly, Soto completely returned to the old Soto in May. On the 12th (Korean time), he started as a left fielder in the 4th match against the Minnesota Twins and recorded 2 hits, 1 RBI and 1 walk in 3 at-bats. He went 14-for-34 with a batting average of 0.412, 1 home run, 8 RBIs, 2 runs scored, and an OPS of 1.270 in May alone.
The season record was 34 hits in 133 at-bats in 38 games, batting average 0.256, 6 homers, 19 RBIs, 21 runs, OPS 0.888. It is still not enough for Soto’s name value. For Soto, if he shows more consistency, he can gain an advantage in the free agency market or long-term contract.