Yankees star Juan Soto says he ‘never wanted to leave’ Nationals: ‘It was a great team’

Major League Baseball

Updated Feb. 28, 2024 6:22 p.m. ET

The New York Yankees pulled off the blockbuster trade of the MLB offseason, acquiring star outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. The trade marked the second time in the past 17 months that the now-25-year-old was traded, the other time being in 2022 when the Washington Nationals sent him to San Diego.

While Soto expressed excitement about being a Yankee, the outfielder also opened up about how he thought the team he began his MLB career with would be the one he ended it with.

“I never wanted to leave Washington,” Soto told The Athletic in an interview published on Wednesday morning. “It was a great team. I knew everybody there, from the bottom all the way to the top. I was really comfortable, and it felt like home for me. I was happy. I had a house in Washington. I was really comfortable up there. Out of nowhere, they made that decision. They thought it was the best thing for the team. I just respected it because they were really clear with me. That’s one of the things I really respected from [general manager Mike] Rizzo. He was really clear about the trade stuff.

“But definitely I never thought I was going to leave D.C. I was really thinking I was going to stay there for my whole career.”

Soto began his career with the Nationals in 2018 and won the World Series with them in 2019. Roughly two-and-a-half years away from free agency, Soto reportedly declined a 15-year, $440 million extension from Washington, who then traded him to San Diego at the 2022 MLB trade deadline.

The trade saw Washington send Soto and first baseman Josh Bell to San Diego for pitchers MacKenzie Gore and Jarlin Susana, outfielders Robert Hassell III and James Wood and infielders CJ Abrams and Luke Voit.

Gore, Hassell and Abrams are former top 10 overall MLB draft picks, with Gore making 27 starts and Abrams totaling 18 home runs and 64 RBIs across 151 games for the Nationals in 2023. Susana, Hassell and Wood haven’t yet reached the big leagues, while Bell and Voit each departed their respective teams after the 2022 season.

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Soto, a three-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger, is coming off arguably his most complete season (2020 was a 60-game regular season) as a hitter; he totaled 35 home runs, 109 RBIs and an MLB-best 132 walks, while posting a .275/.410/.519 slash line. Soto has led the league in walks in each of the past three seasons. The Padres made the playoffs in the season they acquired Soto (2022) but then missed the October festivities this past season.

To acquire Soto, a free agent after the upcoming 2024 season, and fellow outfielder Trent Grisham, New York sent pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez and catcher Kyle Higashioka to San Diego. The Yankees also missed the playoffs last season.

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