Soto does not turn 21 until Oct. 25 — the day of Game 3 of the World Series — but still put together a season with few precedents. Soto’s .949 on-base-plus slugging percentage made him just the 10th player in major league history with at least a .900 O.P.S. at age 20, joining some of the game’s most prolific hitters: Mel Ott, Alex Rodriguez, Ted Williams, Cap Anson, Al Kaline, Jimmie Foxx, Mike Trout, Frank Robinson and Mickey Mantle.
“I see all that stuff because they show me, and I feel really happy because of all the work I did in the off-season is coming out now, it’s getting paid back,” Soto said. “I feel really happy and really proud of myself, but it’s not over yet.”
Neither, the Nationals hope, is their relationship with Rendon, who is 29 and eligible for free agency after the World Series. The Washington Post reported Monday that in September the team had offered Rendon a seven-year contract worth $210 to $215 million, but Rendon seems almost certain to test the market.
“If you’re giving me the opportunity and saying I’m this close from going to go car shopping from multiple lots, instead of staying in one lot, I mean, what would you do?” Rendon said in July, in a radio interview with 106.7 The Fan.
The Nationals tried a similar strategy with Harper at the end of last season, offering him a 10-year, $300 million contract with deferrals that would have paid Harper until he turned 60. When Harper turned it down, as expected, the Nationals immediately moved on.
The Rendon proposal, at least, is meant to be an opening offer, not a final one, with deferrals to be paid out much sooner. And the Lerner family and General Manager Mike Rizzo have made several deals with Scott Boras, who represents Harper but also Scherzer, Strasburg and Jayson Werth, the former outfielder.