WASHINGTON — Bottom of the eighth, two men on, tied 1-1 against the Miami Marlins on July 4.
Juan Soto wasn’t supposed to play that day — he’d been out with tightness in his left calf — but after rookie shortstop Luis Garcia’s game-tying RBI single followed by another single from catcher Keibert Ruiz, the Washington Nationals could not sacrifice this momentum.
“Esa Muchacha,” Soto’s walk-up song blared throughout the stadium, and, after a second of confusion, Nationals fans rejoiced as they realized who was about to pinch hit.
The crowd erupted, with fans dancing to the popular Latin song. It’s quite possibly the loudest Nationals Park has been during a season in which they are 34-66, the worst in baseball.
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Soto, who walked, Garcia, and Ruiz represent Washington’s future. All three promising players under the age of 25 were tasked with leading the franchise back to where it was in 2019 when the Nationals won the World Series. And Soto was primed to lead the way.
So, naturally, hearing potential trade talks around Soto, the two-time All-Star and 2020 NL batting champion, has not been well received after reports surfaced in mid-July that he turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer. The 23-year-old is under team control through 2024. The Lerner family, which has owned the team since 2006, is also looking to sell the franchise.
