The relationship between Juan Soto and the Washington Nationals is tenuous after it was revealed that the team could trade Soto before this year’s deadline. Soto’s agent Scott Boras is now unhappy with how Soto had to travel to the Home Run Derby on Monday, an issue that may have strained the relationship between both parties even further.
Soto reportedly rejected a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Nationals, and was not happy that information became public.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Boras expressed displeasure that Soto had to fly commercial on Sunday to Los Angeles and did not arrive until 1:30 am Monday for that night’s Home Run Derby. Boras talked about how unfair it was that Atlanta Braves players were chartered to the All-Star festivities while the Nationals declined to do so for Soto.
“All I know here is that the Atlanta Braves and Juan Soto played a game [Sunday],” Boras said via Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein. “The Atlanta Braves arrived here five hours earlier than Juan Soto did. You know why? Because their team chartered a plane. Juan Soto had to fly on a commercial flight and wait in an airport for two hours and get here at 1:30 in the morning and have to compete in the Home Run Derby. And that’s something that Major League Baseball did not take care of and that’s something that the Washington Nationals did not take care of.”
Any potential jet lag did not seem to effect Soto, who beat Julio Rodriquez 19-18 in the final round to win the derby.
The Nationals have already tried to extend Soto numerous times this year, and could be frustrated that the 23-year-old has turned down some pretty big offers. After Soto said no to a 13-year, $350 million deal in the offseason, the Nationals reportedly came back with an even bigger offer in late June for over $400 million.
Nationals ownership is looking to sell the team, and could be trying to keep their spending in check during the sales process. They might have also just figured that it was unreasonable to charter a flight for just one player since Soto was their lone All-Star. Comparatively, the Braves were sending six players to Los Angeles for the game. It makes more sense for them to charter a flight for a group of that size.
Whether the Nationals declined to give Soto a chartered flight to Los Angeles due to recent contract disputes or not, this latest addition to the saga between the two sides likely will not help rebuild the trust that has been lost between them.
H/T Yahoo Sports
