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Juan Soto turned down Nationals' 13-year, $350 million contract offer

Still three years from free agency, outfielder Juan Soto turned down the Nationals' 13-year, $350 million contract offer, according to a person with knowledge of the offer. 

The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the offer wasn't made public. 

Soto confirmed to ESPN Deportes on Wednesday that the Nationals had made him an offer before the Major League Baseball lockout began in early December. 

Soto, 23, has been one of the best hitters in baseball since debuting as a teenager in 2018, bat .301 with an .981 OPS in four seasons. He helped the Nationals win the World Series in 2019 and finished runner-up in NL MVP voting last season.

"My agents and I think the best option is to go year after year and wait for free agency," Soto told ESPN on Wednesday. "My agent, Scott Boras, is in control of that situation,"

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Juan Soto will hit free agency after the 2024 season, just after he turns 26 years old.

The contract would have bought out the final three years of Soto's team control, with the slugger scheduled to become a free agent after the 2024 season.

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A potential extension for Soto has been a topic for the past few years, even more so since the San Diego Padres signed shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 14-year, $330 million extension in Feb. 2021. 

"Clubs do things for a reason,” Boras told The Athletic after the Tatis deal was announced. “Juan Soto has his own unique place in the game.”

The Nationals finished last in the NL East in 2021, unloading stars Max Scherzer and Trea Turner at the trade deadline.

"Juan Soto wants to win," Boras said in November. "So the first thing that’s gonna have to happen is that he knows that he's working with an ownership that’s gonna annually try to compete and win. And then I think once he knows that, then he'll be ready to sit down and talk whenever they choose to talk."

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