Juan Soto, Washington Nationals. (Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
For Juan Soto’s agent Scott Boras, the Fernando Tatis Jr. contract is the floor for his client.
After inking a 14-year, $340 million extension with the San Diego Padres, shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr.’s new deal now stands as the floor for what MLB mega agent Scott Boras will get for one of his top clients, Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto.
The 22-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic is entering his fourth season with the big-league club. He finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018, won a World Series in 2019 and took home a Silver Slugger and an NL Batting Title last season. Soto is the best young talent the Nationals have, so there is no doubt Boras will get his client the most amount of money.
Juan Soto becomes arbitration eligible in 2022 and hits free agency in 2025
It is interesting that Soto and Tatis are the same age and follow the same career trajectory. While Soto got to the big leagues faster, Tatis was the one who got paid first. This puts pressure on Boras and the Nationals to come up with a long-term extension to keep their best player in the nation’s capital for years to come. All we know is that it will not come cheap, as Boras is involved.
While it remains to be seen if this new wave of mega-extensions will be good for the game of baseball, it has been interesting to see a small-market club like the Padres orchestrate huge deals of the caliber in back-to-back-to-back seasons with first baseman Eric Hosmer in 2019, third baseman Manny Machado in 2020 and now Tatis in 2021. Soto is poised to have his pay day soon.
Expect Soto to be the next highest compensated baseball star, as the Nationals must pony up.