Nationals GM: 'We are not trading Juan Soto'

Washington Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo slammed the door on trade rumors surrounding superstar outfielder Juan Soto.

"We are not trading Juan Soto," Rizzo told 106.7 The Fan's "Sports Junkies" on Wednesday. "We have made it clear to his agent and to the player. ... These journalists have to fill a blank sheet of paper every day. It's a good thing to get some attention on a story. But we have every intention of building this team around Juan Soto.

"We've spoken to his agent many, many times (and) recently sat with him when he was in Washington, D.C. Made it clear to him that we are not interested in trading him, and I guess the rest of the world just doesn't believe it."

Soto, who's making $17.1 million this season and is arbitration-eligible through 2024, turned down a 13-year, $350-million contract extension in the offseason prior to the lockout. Some people around baseball believe the 23-year-old's next deal could be worth $500 million.

The 2021 NL MVP runner-up has gone deep nine times with an .821 OPS over 51 games for the 18-33 Nationals. He owns a career .294/.426/.539 slash line with a batting title, two Silver Sluggers, and a World Series ring since breaking into the majors as a teenager in 2018.