Notes and quotes from Davey Martinez’s press conference at the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings…
The team that signed a then-16-year-old Juan Soto out of the Dominican Republic in 2015 (with a $1.5M signing bonus) wasn’t a part of the conversation before the now-26-year-old signed his record 15-year/$765M free agent deal with the New York Mets on Sunday night.
No rumors. No offer in any reports.
No triumphant return to play alongside the players Washington acquired from San Diego’s Padres when the Nationals traded 2+ years of control of the outfielder for five top prospects in the Padres’ system in 2022 (MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, James Wood, Robert Hassell III, and Jarlin Susana).
Soto, of course, reportedly turned down a 15-year/$440M extension offer when he was still in the nation’s capital, which led, in part, to the decision to deal him when the Nats did, but as his one-time manager said after the deal with the Mets was announced, he clearly made a good decision for himself and his family in the end.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
“He’s going to help the Mets, as we all know,” Davey Martinez told reporters on Monday.
“I’m proud of him. I’m glad he’s able to take care of himself, the family, and many generations,” and, no, Martinez said, he wasn’t too surprised by the final number.
“Knowing what I know about how the game’s going? No. He’s a tremendous player.
“Like I’ve already said, I love Juan. I can sit here and say that I’m the only manager that won a World Series with him. How about that?”
Martinez was asked if, given what it finally took to get Soto signed, he was worried at all about trying to stay competitive when big market teams can swoop in and sign deals for more than three-quarters of a billion dollars.
“I can’t look at what other teams are doing and what they’re spending. My focus is on the Washington Nationals and what they do,” the skipper said. “I think we’re in a good place, I really do.
“One thing about Juan, when we traded him, we got some really good young talent. We’ve got a couple in the big leagues now and a couple are still coming.
“I think we’re in a good place now, and … we’re getting better.”
The old friends (and 2019 World Series champions) will see plenty of each other now that Soto is back in the NL East.
“We’re going to bang heads. We did a pretty good job with him with the Yankees when we faced them,” he said, and his own players know how talented Soto is after a few years now playing against him.
“They know what they’re up against,” Martinez said.
Watching Soto early in his pro career, early in his time in the majors, and as he grew into the player he is today, Martinez was asked, did he signs of Soto being a generational-type talent from the start?
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
“When I first saw him, people looked at me and — like I kind of compare it to Barry [Bonds], when Barry was — right? This kid, he was different. The ball comes off his bat different. The way he approaches the hitting was way different than a lot of kids I’ve seen.
“But the one thing that I always remember about him, the first conversation I had, the first thing that came out of his mouth when I asked him what motivates him, what drives him, and he just came out and said, ‘I love baseball.’
“Truly you can see it in him. He loves playing the game.”
While he tries to stay focused on his own club, (which was hard with 5 of first first 7 of the questions about Soto to start his press conference Monday at the 2024 Winter Meetings in Dallas, TX), Martinez said he and the Nationals’ brass are trying to keep building the next contender in D.C., after the club kicked off the organizational reboot at the trade deadlines in 2021 and ‘22.
“Look, we’ve got a young core,” Martinez explained.
“We’re really not going to mess around with what we have right now, and I don’t want to take away anything from the kids that we’ve got coming up as well.
“But we do need to add some veteran guys. We’re exploring all kinds of options. I know we’ve talked to quite a few players already.
“We’re engaged with some things. As you know, [GM and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo], he’s going to go out there and work diligently to get us better.
“Right now I’ve been in conversations with some players about what’s coming up for Spring Training and watching them work out and watching them hit and all kinds of stuff.
“My focus is on what we have right now. If we add players to help us, that would be great.”