Here's why Nationals' mega-trade signaled beginning of end, start of new beginning

Champagne taste, beer budget.

Sipping the bubbly gives a feeling of class and achievement. Wearing it means you won something big.

Corks popping and foam spraying are lasting images everyone remembers about winning a championship. In a way, it is symbolic of high prices paid to become the ruling class in sports.

It’s something everyone gets used to and expects to keep.

The problem is that glory doesn’t last forever.

And that’s the worst thing about it. Once you had a taste of the high life, it’s tough to go back to the High Life.

These days, teams have to hit the bottom — and rebuild — before reaching the top again.

That change of fortunes became very real for Washington Nationals fans on Tuesday when Juan Soto was dealt in an epic mega-blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres.

Unreconcilable differencesAspirations, short-lived retweet have muddled Soto's definition of loyalty

In less than three years after winning the World Series, the Nationals went from the penthouse to the trailer park of baseball after dealing away one of the last major links to that title.

In 2019, Soto’s star was born. In 2022, the star left Washington’s galaxy.

Now, Nationals fans who were getting used to sipping from flute glasses are reaching for bottle openers again.

Now you know how Baltimore Orioles fans have been feeling for the last few years.

Hold on to that thought. First, gather around for a bedtime story.

Once upon a time, there was a baseball team without direction.

It moved to a new city without a direction. Not even a good compass helped.

This team was aimless because it didn’t have any ownership. It was relocated as a baseball orphan.

For the first few years, the team barely kept its head above water. It finished in last place year after year, leaving many to wonder what was going on.

Suddenly, new owners showed up. They introduced smart people who got everything in line.

The smart people had a plan. Since the team had been so bad, they were armed with a number of consecutive No. 1 overall draft picks to select prime talent and build successfully.

Soon, a sprout bloomed in the center of that cowpie.

The team started to rise, buoyed by a large influx of talent and well-placed, experienced acquisitions. Everyone began to take notice.

Then the team took a chance and made a bold offseason move — a three-team trade — to pick up a final important piece. It was a highly-regarded shortstop prospect projected to become the bedrock in the middle of the defense.

At the time of the deal, things were already starting to look up for the team. All those draft picks started filling the team’s talent voids.

After finishing fifth in five of its first seven years, the team won its division in the eighth year. That started a run of seven years finishing first or second.

The pinnacle came just over a year after the trade. That shortstop arrived, adding a new dimension to the team, creating something special.

Just two years after the shortstop burst on the scene, he was a central figure in the team’s championship success.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, this is the saga of the Nationals.

They came to Washington from Montreal and were owned by Major League Baseball until the Lerner family took ownership.

They hired Mike Rizzo as general manager, who became the leader for the trades, signings and draft picks to make the Nationals respectable.

He’s the one who snagged Trea Turner, the future shortstop, as a player to be named from the Padres in that three-way deal.

Turner wasn’t the sole reason, but he became a catalyst — along with former No. 1 picks like Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg — to win the 2019 World Series.

There was this budding star named Soto, too.

The champagne wasn’t the only thing that was vintage in those days.

Last Tuesday was the end of that era.

But there also are similarities to start the next one.

The Nationals are in the midst of an ownership change, which may have been a factor in Soto’s trade.

They are about to finish fifth in the National League East for a third straight year — probably with the worst record in the game.

There will be another No. 1 overall pick to go with some other highly-placed selections. And there will be more talent to chase, sign and draft to get the team prominent again.

On Tuesday, the Nats acquired another highly-regarded shortstop (CJ Abrams) — along with other top prospects — from the Padres (again) for Soto.

It all sounds slightly familiar.

There are no longer dynasties in baseball. The Nats found that out quickly.

Players looked for big raises after the championship and the team couldn’t afford everyone. Some left for hefty paydays after their contracts ran out. Others were dealt or released.

They really didn’t get the chance to enjoy or defend the title. There was a paralyzing pandemic that prevented that in 2020.

The Nats aged quickly. Here they are, purging to start another rebuild.

That’s the way of today’s game. Many "small market" teams claim they don’t have the funds to maintain top players.

Savvy agents use that to leverage moves to get their clients to deep-pocketed teams like the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers. Other teams, like the Padres, are trying to travel in that circle, too.

Funny thing. Big-money moves don’t always mean a World Series title. Since 2001, the Yankees and the Dodgers are each 1-for-3 in championship bids.

Winning baseball isn’t a quick-fix project anymore. There are many lower-budget teams rebuilding to make a calculated run at a championship.

The goal seems to be five years of building to get a five-year window of winning. More if they are lucky.

Fans don’t understand that. They are impatient.

So why do teams stick to the tedious process?

They must like even an occasional taste of champagne.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Parasiliti: Soto trade proves nothing in baseball world lasts forever