Perhaps you heard earlier in the week, minor leaguer Evan White signed a six-year contract extension with the Seattle Mariners for $25 million dollars. Of course, this is one exhibit of a franchise offering a young player financial security many years before he has earned it to cost control the player for a window.
Now, speculation is in the media that superstar outfielder Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals could be the next young player up for an extension.
However, some things to remember before we brush up on all of this. First, Soto is just 21 years old. In the recent past an example exists of a player of that age (Ronald Acuña Jr.) signing a long-term extension to secure a large contract in his early years. Second, Soto is a Scott Boras client; which throws an entirely new wrinkle into things.
https://twitter.com/NBCSNationals/status/1199413789495566336?s=20
Therefore – as NBC Sports points out – some groundwork already exists for Soto to sign an early extension with the Nationals, buying out some arbitration years. Back in the spring, Nationals’ general manager Mike Rizzo said that the idea of locking down Soto wasn’t too far-fetched. Also, Soto had his own comments on a deal getting done.
“I never think of that,” Soto told NBC Sports Washington about a contract extension in April. “I just come here and play my baseball. My time going to get here. I never think like, ‘Oh, I got to do that,’ my age or nothing. I just come here and keep playing baseball.”
While the Nationals had not approached Soto about an early deal, he seemed at the time open to it. Or at least, he wanted them to speak to his agent.
“I just let him work,” Soto said of Boras. “He’s going to let me know when something comes to me.”
This is a very good young player we are talking about here. Perhaps unprecedented unless you go back to Ken Griffey Jr., the sky is the limit for Soto; who is coming off a postseason in which he had a .927 OPS and five home runs.
Finally, a friend texted me tonight saying that if there is a next Mike Trout in baseball; it’s going to be Juan Soto. Washington would be wise to present him with an offer soon, because with each day the price goes up.
We will update on this storyline as it builds, or if one does at all to begin with.
