Braves wisely avoided controversy with Juan Soto during All-Star Game
By Scott Rogust
The Washington Nationals reportedly asked the Atlanta Braves if they could let Juan Soto and Davey Martinez on their charter plane to the MLB All-Star Game.
The Juan Soto is dominating MLB headlines much like Kevin Durant is with the NBA following his trade request from the Brooklyn Nets. Soto recently turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract extension offer from the Washington Nationals, and they are now listening to teams interested in acquiring him. At the All-Star Game, Soto’s agent Scott Boras said that his client had to fly commercial to Los Angeles after the Nationals refused to charter a plane.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Nationals asked the Atlanta Braves if they could fly Soto and manager Davey Martinez to the All-Star Game. The Braves declined due to the flight being full. Heyman added that the Braves “were smart [to] avoid any suggestion of impropriety” with Soto.
The Nats asked the Braves if they’d let Soto/Davey Martinez on their team plane and were told it was full (they took staff and team media). While the Astros took Paul Blackburn, the Braves were smart avoid any suggestion of impropriety via extra time with an available superstar.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 21, 2022
Braves avoided the Juan Soto/charter plane controversy
When talking about the flight, Boras brought up the Braves, telling Sports Illustrated that they arrived in Los Angeles five hours earlier than Soto, who landed at 1:30 a.m. on a commercial flight on the day of the Home Run Derby.
Given that Soto is a young player and one of the league’s bright stars, fans have been dissecting and discussing what it would take their favorite team to acquire him. That includes the Braves. But they are not among the teams expected to make an offer for Soto.
On July 21, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that seven teams were prepared to weigh in with offers to the Nationals. Those teams included the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres.
With the Aug. 2 trade deadline approaching, one has to wonder if a team will be able to give the Nationals an offer they can not refuse for Soto. After all, he is under team control for two more years before he hits free agency at the end of the 2024 season.
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