Soto Alone

 

What's very funny about this umpteenth incredible Juan Soto season in that it's still something of a down year for him.

For the first time since 2019, he's hitting below .300, and he's currently only hitting only .227. Everybody's walking him, and he leads the league with 47 bases on balls. He has 9 home runs but only 16 RBIs. And while he's played in every game and is extremely valuable for his Washington Nationals, all this time on a team that's now a last place one is beginning to drag him down, I think.

I think his recent struggles have factored into the trade rumors rearing their heads last week. Well with someone like Soto, what'll happen is there'll be three days of 'is this person gonna be traded', two days of 'no, says the GM, this person is absolutely not going to be traded', and two days of 'well, are you SUUUURE?" I hate this game of keep away GMs play. We're not trading Kris Bryant, we're not trading Kris Bryant, THANK YOU FOR YOUR YEARS OF SERVICE, KRIS. Perhaps this is a very literal, non varied approach I'm asking for, but if people could just...be honest. Like, Rizzo could just ignore these trade talks about Soto, because clearly that's what he could do in a few months, instead of lying and saying 'ABSOLUTELY NOT' when it could be a decent idea to trade him and start over. 

Now. Soto could be traded, because...if the Nats are doing this badly, of course he could. But at the same time...maybe Juan Soto needs to stay a National the same way Mike Trout has needed to stay an Angel, because can you imagine them anywhere else? The other thing is, unlike Trout, Soto has his ring and he's only 23. He has another, like, 17 or so years if he wants to keep it up. And while he's only had 5 years in the majors, that's not a long time for an initial star-making tenure. So like...I think he does need to stay in Washington and keep leading the team.

Not that it'll be fun, at least initially. The rotation's a mess, and is a lot like the Reds' rotation only if they all had a bit more experience. Only two people have a WAR higher than 1, and they're Soto and Josh Bell. The young up-and-comers like Keibert Ruiz, Riley Adams and Lane Thomas are either succeeding or struggling. Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco are striking out a lot, but they're at least getting better at contact work. Nelson Cruz got his average above .200 but only has 4 homers, and is definitely playing his age. And when big roles are relying on people like Alcides Escobar and Dee Strange-Gordon, you know there's something awry.

I'd like the Nats to keep Soto, and for Soto to start working towards contact success again, but I also know how difficult it is for this team to deliver now that the championship armada is gone.

Coming Tonight: Former Cubs highlight-reel staple, current Detroit moneymaker.