Juan Soto’s trade from the Washington Nationals to the San Diego Padres could not have come as a surprise, but the outfielder still had an emotional reaction to the deal.
Soto was traded to San Diego on Aug. 2 after failing to agree to a contract extension with the Nationals. He only had to wait ten days to return to Washington for a road trip with his new team, and admitted to the Washington media that his reaction to the trade was that he “cried all morning.”
Juan Soto on when he found out he was going to the Padres: “I cried the whole morning.”
He then adds that he knows it’s a business and trades happen. But this further underscores no matter how much speculation there was, it still hit him hard.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) August 12, 2022
Soto was signed and developed by the Nationals and won a World Series with the organization as a rookie. It certainly makes sense that he would have that kind of emotional response to getting traded, especially to the other side of the country.
Soto certainly seemed to be unsettled by the entire experience. From his contract demands leaking to the constant speculation regarding where he would be traded, the 23-year-old was ultimately probably just happy that the whole ordeal was over once he was shipped to the Padres.
