WASHINGTON — Almost everywhere Juan Soto goes these days, questions arise about his future.
But as he returned to his past Monday — to the place where he made his major league debut in 2018, won a World Series in 2019, became one of the game’s best players and ultimately turned down a generous extension offer — Soto was in the midst of what was arguably the best season of his career, all in a contract year and at age 25.
As questions lingered Monday as Soto returned to Nationals Park for the third time as a visitor, this time as a Yankee and just months away from free agency, the “generational” talent stuck to his familiar script.
“At the end of the day, I’m playing for the Yankees right now,” Soto said in the visitors’ locker room before the Yankees-Nationals series began. “I’m happy where I am. We’ll see what happens in free agency.”
A day after the Yankee Stadium crowd reminded Soto of their desire to have him stick around — to which Soto responded after the game: “They need to talk to (general manager Brian) Cashman” — fans at Nationals Park gave him a standing ovation as he stepped up to bat for his first at-bat.
Soto removed his helmet and saluted the crowd, which then broke into faint chants of “Come Home Soto,” although the crowd was overwhelmingly Yankees, numbering 32,812.
It remains to be seen whether the Nationals will end up being a serious contender for Soto’s services, though they offered him a 15-year, $440 million contract extension through 2022 that he declined before being traded to the Padres.
They have a young, emerging core — including top prospect Dylan Crews, who made his MLB debut Monday — and appear to have plenty of room to maneuver if ownership wants it.
For now, Soto has returned to the country’s capital in the middle of a career year.
While somewhat overshadowed by another historic season from Aaron Judge, Soto reaped the rewards of hitting in front of the likely AL MVP, entering Monday with a .299 batting average with a 1.034 OPS and a career-high 37 home runs.
Soto’s 7.8 fWAR was the highest of any season in his career — his most dominant year came in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign — and was behind only Judge and Bobby Witt Jr.
“In a lot of ways, he’s probably just starting out as a player, and that’s scary given the success he’s had,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But I think we’re seeing clearly now that he’s still young and even entering the physical prime of his career, but he’s also reaping the benefits of being an experienced player who’s been in the league for a while.”
Soto’s season is all the more impressive because it comes during his contract year, a time when pressure is on some players. But not Soto.
“Again, he’s 25 and it’s not even a distraction for him,” Boone said. “You can tell right away that this guy, his priorities are where they need to be. They’re to be the best player he can be and he wants to win. He showed that to us right from the beginning of spring training. He really bonded with his teammates. For him, it’s about winning baseball games every day. He knows he’s a big part of that and he has to be a big part of that. He handles the things he has to do on a daily basis.”
Soto, who spent much of the pregame time talking with his former coaches, staff and teammates, is beloved here in part because he helped the Nationals win that World Series in 2019.
The right fielder was asked what the similarities are between this team and the one he currently plays for as he chases another title.
“The good energy and the vibe we have here — I would say it’s not going to be like what we had at the Nationals in 2019, but it’s definitely very close to what we had back then,” Soto said. “We all get along really well, we play hard, we come here and everybody wants to do the same at the end of the day. That’s what it’s all about. Nothing else matters. It’s not about money or anything. We come here to play baseball and win games.”
