WASHINGTON, D.C. — With four hours to go before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline, the Padres added right fielder Juan Soto, first baseman Josh Bell—and some two dozen San Diego fans in the Nationals’ clubhouse.
Soto, 23, spent an hour exchanging tears and goodbyes with members of the only organization he has ever known, the organization to which he helped bring a championship in 2019 and the organization that two months ago announced it would not trade him. One person after another delivered the same message: Go win the World Series.
Catcher Tres Barrera, who was drafted a year after Soto signed as a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic and interpreted for him at restaurants until Soto taught himself English, told him to “win another ring.”
