Alex Rychwalski | Nats bungle a superstar's extension ... again

Jul. 21—I can't, for the life of me, figure out what the Washington Nationals are doing.

All the headlines right now focus on how the Nationals offered superstar 23-year-old Juan Soto the largest contract in baseball history at $440 million — and the third largest total contract in the world behind Lionel Messi and Patrick Mahomes — and how Soto greedily rejected it.

The Nationals, despite posting a horrendous 31-63 first-half record just three years after winning a World Series, should be commended for making an effort to retain their biggest star.

Soto isn't just a big draw in D.C., he's arguably one of the top five talents in all of baseball. He's just two years removed from winning a batting title at 21, he was runner-up in National League Most Valuable Player voting last year at 22 and has 20 home runs on a paltry Nats team this year.

But what's lost in the contract talks, which have devolved to the Nationals openly shopping Soto on the trade market, is that the slugger still has three years left on his deal.

That's right, Soto doesn't hit free agency until 2025. He's getting paid $17.1 million this year, and he has two more seasons of arbitration before going on the open market.

The Nationals have three more years to negotiate an extension — something they clearly wanted given the record contract — but at the first sign of pushback, they burn all bridges and force their own hands.

Washington leaked the contract to the media to make Soto look like the bad guy. Then they didn't even arrange a charter flight to the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, and Soto flew commercial.

Soto arrived in L.A. less than 24 hours before the home run derby, and he still won it.

I know, boo hoo, Mr. Millionaire didn't get his private jet. But you'd think, if the Nationals weren't so immature, they'd still keep things cordial in the hopes of eventually working out a deal. There was still time, a lot of time.

Nationals President and General Manager Mike Rizzo knows how sour Washington fans still are about Scott Boras, who represents Soto, from the Bryce Harper negotiations.

Washington low-balled Harper with a take-it-or-leave it offer back in 2019, and Harper turned it down and ended up in Philadelphia for $330 million. It happens.

The Orioles did the same with Manny Machado. They made a meager effort to resign their star, scrapped him for parts and both went their separate ways. Baltimore didn't bad-mouth Manny publicly, and he got a standing ovation when he returned to Camden Yards with the Padres in 2019.

It's a business at the end of the day. Surely, the Nationals handled the Harper negotiations with the same professionalism. Guess again.

Rizzo publicly stated Harper leaving was his fault because the team had a "history of catering to Harper without challenging him." Rizzo could've said nothing but instead opted to feign accountability by claiming the Nats coddled Harper.

When a club trades away a hometown favorite or doesn't out-bid suitors in free agency, it's just a business decision. But when a player does what they feel is best for them and their family, they're being selfish.

Beginning to see a trend?

Back to Soto, by handling the negotiations this way and forcing a trade, Nats ownership can say, "Hey guys, we tried! Shame Scott Boras got in the way or we'd have resigned this guy."

When, in reality, it's becoming increasingly clear the Nationals are content with blowing up their team for a rebuild.

Washington was also very crafty in how Soto's contract details were leaked. The big $440 million number was eye-popping, and it wasn't until later we found out it was a 15-year deal.

The $29.3 million-a-year figure is still massive, but it'd be the 15th highest total in Major League Baseball.

Former Nationals Max Scherzer and Anthony Rendon are both making more with their new teams. Only Scherzer is worth the price tag, and both are less valuable than Soto at just 23 years of age.

There's a player currently on the Nationals with a greater yearly salary than Soto's offer would've paid him, and he doesn't even play the game. Stephen Strasburg, who's throw 4 2/3 innings this year, is being paid $35 million.

Strasburg, who has glass bones and paper skin, is done for the season.

I'd argue taking a 15-year deal is stupid anyway, even for a Scherzer-esque amount, because no one knows how much more the market will explode between now and then.

Fifteen years ago, Alex Rodriguez was the highest paid player at $27.5 million. Now? Scherzer is making $43.3 million to pitch every five days.

Washington is going to ask for a lot in a trade for Soto, and few teams have the farm systems to get him. Any of the Dodgers, Guardians, Cardinals, Padres, Blue Jays, Mariners and Mets could go out and get him.

The Nationals, meanwhile, are headed for their first 100-loss season since 2009. Back-to-back years dropping 100 games in '08 and '09 netted them Strasburg and Harper and eventually a title, so all is not lost.

In the meantime, Nationals fans can hop back on the Orioles bandwagon. All they have to do is dust off the orange and black jerseys that have been in their closets since 2012.

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.