Juan Soto joins long list of young stars gone from Nationals

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Sports Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Add Juan Soto to the list of young stars the Washington Nationals have parted with over the past several years. Sending Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego comes a year after the Nationals traded Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and several other players to plunge them into full rebuilding mode. Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon have also departed in free agency. The trade of Soto at age 23 further severs any ties to the 2019 World Series championship team. It’s also another step in the dismantling of an organization’s core that contended for nearly a decade. It could be several years now before Washington is in the playoffs again.