Nationals Have Clearly Won Juan Soto Trade as Young Core Produces

It gets clearer and clearer that the Washington Nationals won the Juan Soto trade made three years ago.

May 10, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals designated hitter James Wood (29) singles against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Nationals Park. | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Even though the Washington Nationals are struggling to find consistency in the win column, this is a franchise that has one of the best young cores in baseball.

After winning the World Series in 2019, the Nationals have been in a rebuild ever since. The franchise has elected to trade away a lot of key players from the team during that time frame, but it has resulted in a lot of young talent.

Unfortunately, it is taking time to get this team back into being a contender. But they are on the right track in terms of developing their young players and being patient with their rebuild.

A few years after the fact, it has been one trade in particular that has helped the team immensely this year.

Which Move Has Paid Off for Washington?

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the Nationals winning the Juan Soto deal with some of their best players being ones from that trade.

“It's clear at this point that the Nationals won that massive Juan Soto trade from three summers ago, yes? In that blockbuster, they got Gore, Wood, Abrams, and two other prospects (Jarlin Susana and Robert Hassell III) who both might be in D.C. by the end of this season," he wrote.

Even though trading a player like Soto was a tough decision, it was clear the direction that the team was going and that the slugger was going to be far too expensive for them to keep long-term.

After the massive contract he received from the New York Mets this winter, it only makes Washington’s decision to trade him look even better.

However, when moving a player of that caliber, it is key to get a good return. A couple years later, the return for Soto is looking great for the Nationals.

In the starting rotation, their ace MacKenzie Gore has come from the deal. The talented southpaw is off to a great start and at 26 years old is looking like he is going to be having a breakout campaign in 2025.

Last season, CJ Abrams, who was also featured in the deal was able to make his first All-Star team with Washington. The talented young shortstop missed some time to begin this year, but has put up some good numbers when healthy.

Furthermore, while those two players have been great, it is James Wood who appears to be on a superstar trajectory.

The talented outfielder has emerged as one of the best young players in the league and has been electric this campaign.

Furthermore, with a couple of more prospects involved in the deal who have yet to make their debuts, it has been a great trade by the Nationals.

Overall, Washington should be very pleased with their return and have been the winner in the Soto trade so far.