Juan Soto was here in April 2019 when Bryce Harper returned to Nationals Park for the first time as a Phillie. He was here this April when Max Scherzer returned to Nationals Park for the first time as a Met. He was here this May when Trea Turner returned to Nationals Park for the first time as a Dodger.

It was strange seeing former teammates, superstars who made their names here in D.C. and in some cases won their first championships with him, come back wearing different uniforms, eliciting different reactions from fans that loved them when they played here and now had to get used to the idea of them playing for someone else.

Could Soto have imagined he’d find himself in that exact position so soon, as he will be tonight when the 23-year-old star takes the field on South Capitol Street not as a member of the Nationals but instead the Padres?

“At that moment, I never think about it,” he said today before a throng of reporters packed into the visitors’ dugout prior to batting practice. “As soon as I get traded, I really think about it, and how cool the fans were with them and how much they enjoyed it. And I’m just going to try to do the same thing.”

The scene tonight should be overwhelmingly positive, with Nationals fans showering Soto – and former and current teammate Josh Bell – with love in his return. That will help make it a little easier for them. But that doesn’t mean it will feel normal, not while the emotions are still so fresh from a trade that happened only 10 days ago.

It’s going to be quite a scene at Nationals Park tonight, with a national audience able to tune in as well.

Juan Soto and Josh Bell make their returns to D.C., now as members of the Padres, only 10 days after they were sent to San Diego for six players (including five prospects) in an historic deal at the trade deadline. Very rarely do players dealt at the deadline return to their former home ballparks in this short amount of time. Even more rarely are players of Soto and Bell’s caliber traded and then return to face their former club. 

There will be tribute videos played on the big screen at Nats Park for both Soto and Bell. Fans will give them standing ovations in their first at-bats. There may even be a couple of boos directed at the front office and ownership for making this trade in the first place. But what’s done is done. And the game moves along.

Cory Abbott takes the mound for his third start with the Nationals. He pitched five shutout innings against the Mets last week, but then gave up seven runs in 3 ⅔ innings against the Phillies on Sunday. 

Mike Clevinger brings a 3-4 record and 3.60 ERA to the bump for the Padres in the series opener. Twelve of the right-handers’ 13 appearances this year have been starts, while he has poasted a 3.43 ERA as a starter. Clevinger gave up six runs over 5 ⅔ innings in his only career start against the Nats back in 2019.

On the afternoon of Aug. 2, only hours after the Nationals had finalized a deal to send Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego for six players, Davey Martinez was informed the Padres were scheduled to come to D.C. in a mere 10 days.

“Thanks,” the manager said in a wry, sarcastic tone as he contemplated what that would entail. “We gotta to get him out. We’ve got 10 days to think about that.”

Martinez had far more pressing matters to contend with over the last week and a half, namely how to put together a lineup capable of giving his worst-in-baseball club at least a chance of winning some games. The Nats have gone 2-7 since the trade deadline, underscoring just how daunting that challenge has been.

And now comes maybe the most difficult challenge yet: Facing Soto and Bell so soon after trading them. The three-game series that begins tonight at Nationals Park will be filled with emotion, not all of it positive as the scars of that franchise-altering transaction still burn.

It was an odd fate of scheduling that created this scenario. The Padres come to Washington only once per season. That trip just so happened to come right now. On top of that, the Nats make their lone trip of the year to San Diego next week, cramming their only seven head-to-head games into a 10-day window.

Three of the six players the Nationals acquired from the Padres this week, all of them age 18-20, won’t be sniffing the major leagues for some time. The other three, though, are poised to join the club before season’s end, one of them as soon as tonight.

Luke Voit, the lone veteran to be included in the blockbuster deal that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego, is scheduled to meet the team in Philadelphia and will probably be in the lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Phillies.

The 31-year-old will see time both at first base and designated hitter the rest of the way, according to manager Davey Martinez. Though he had pedestrian numbers this season with the Padres (a .225/.317/.416 slash line with 13 homers and 48 RBIs in 344 plate appearances), Voit’s .733 OPS is as good as anyone currently in the Nats lineup.

Over parts of six big league seasons with the Cardinals, Yankees and Padres, Voit owns a strong .838 OPS and 86 homers. He led the American League with 22 homers and finished ninth in MVP voting during the condensed 2020 season.

And because he’s under club control through 2024 (same as Soto), Voit could figure into the Nationals’ plans beyond this year.

First of all, it’s OK for Nationals fans to be sad. No one would blame them if they were also downright mad.

There’s no other way to put it: Yesterday was a dark day for the Nationals franchise, this fan base and this city.

How else do you describe a day in which a team trades away perhaps its best player ever with 2 ½ more years of contractual control at the age of 23 before the prime of his career?

That’s what happened Tuesday when Nats general manager Mike Rizzo traded Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres for six players, including five highly touted prospects. An unprecedented move that sent shock waves through the baseball world and may end up being the biggest trade in the sport’s history.

Shock was indeed the initial reaction. How could the Nats do that? Why can’t they just re-sign Soto? Was the return good enough? Will it ever be good enough? How did we even get here?

As he sat down in front of a bank of cameras and recorders and reporters, the likes of which hadn’t been present at Nationals Park in a long time, Mike Rizzo made a statement about his decision to trade Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres for six players, five of them highly rated prospects.

Rizzo made his statement not only through his words, but also through his attire. On this, one of the most significant days of his 13-year tenure as general manager, he wore his 2019 World Series ring on his left hand, not to mention a red polo shirt with the visage of the Commissioner’s Trophy on the chest.

“I wore this ring purposely,” he said. “It shows what we’ve done in the past, and what we’re going to do in the future. In 2019, we had a slogan: ‘Bumpy roads lead to beautiful places.’ We’re on a bumpy road right now, and we believe that coming out of this thing, it’ll be a beautiful place.”

This road may indeed lead to a beautiful place someday, but that day won’t be anytime soon. The path back to winning baseball in D.C. is going to feature all sorts of bumps and potholes and other obstacles, and while Tuesday’s blockbuster trade of Soto to San Diego may produce some nice new paving way down at the end of the journey, it didn’t do anything to smooth over the asphalt sitting right in front of the Nats right now.

To be clear, this is not – and should not – be framed as a good thing for anybody. This isn’t something anyone wanted to do. It’s not something anyone should have wanted the Nationals to do.

There’s no doubt today was a sad day for the Nationals. What most people thought would happen came to fruition in the form of an unprecedented trade of Juan Soto and Josh Bell the Padres for six players, five of whom are prospects.

Plenty more will be written and said about the franchise-altering decision to trade one of the best players to wear a Nationals jersey before the prime of his career.

But lost in the background of today’s news and the subsequent reactions was the reality that the Nationals still had to play a baseball game tonight. And not only were they suddenly without their two best players, they were facing Jacob deGrom, one of the best pitchers in the sport, in his season debut.

“I was relieved," manager Davey Martinez said of the passing of the trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET. "Yeah, I really was. I mean, I felt a different breath of fresh air. And for me, it was about regrouping and saying, 'All right, this is what we need to do moving forward.' So like I said, we're going to go out there and we're gonna compete and we're gonna play hard and we're gonna do some different things. And like I said, I was proud of the boys going out there today and doing what they did.”

After deGrom didn’t play a deciding role in the game while departing a tied game after five innings, the boys were able to take a late lead to win tonight’s game 5-1 in front of 29,878 mostly Mets fans at Nats Park. A small victory on a tough day.

Once word that Juan Soto turned down the Nationals’ 15-year, $440 million extension offer – prompting the club to explore the possibility of trading its 23-year-old superstar – became public 17 days ago, Mike Rizzo began the process of figuring out which other organizations might actually be in a position to make a trade happen.

The Nats general manager realized the list of candidates, essentially clubs that were both in a win-now mode while also having enough elite talent in their farm system, would be short. In recent days, it became clear there were only three serious suitors: the Padres, Cardinals and Dodgers. And by the time trade deadline day arrived, it was clear that if a deal was going to happen, it was going to be with the Padres.

“We had to get the right deal, or we weren’t going to do the deal,” Rizzo said. “We set the bar very, very high, and one team exceeded it and that’s the deal we made. Props to the San Diego Padres. They’re not afraid, and ownership’s not afraid and (general manager) A.J. Preller’s not afraid. They were aggressive, and we made a deal that you call historical. I call it a good deal for both the San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals at this time in both our franchise’s history.”

It will be some time before anyone can say with certainty if it was a good deal for either franchise. The Padres must now actually win something in October with Soto and Josh Bell added to a roster that already features Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Yu Darvish and (just recently) Josh Hader. The Nationals must hope several of the five prospects they acquired today (along with veteran first baseman Luke Voit) become not only big leaguers but cornerstones who ultimately help them win a lot more games than they’re winning these days.

In the minutes and hours that came after today’s blockbuster news was reported, those who remained at Nationals Park were having a tough time thinking that far into the future. They were more concerned with the two cornerstones from the 2022 roster who are no longer here, not to mention wondering if anyone else from the room would be dealt.

Well, tonight’s Nationals lineup is going to look a lot different. After reportedly trading their two best hitters, Juan Soto and Josh Bell, to the Padres for five prospects and possibly more, the Nats will trot out a starting lineup that no one could imagine just a couple of weeks ago.

Soto and Bell no longer man the heart of the order. Those spots are now filled by Yadiel Hernandez and Nelson Cruz as they face Mets ace Jacob deGrom in his season debut.

After suffering a stress reaction in his right scapula during spring training, deGrom brings his 9-4 record and 2.44 career ERA against the Nationals to South Capitol Street tonight.

On the mound for the Nationals is right-hander Cory Abbott, who makes his fourth appearance and first start for Washington. He has given up two hits, one run, one home run, one walk and six strikeouts in four innings over his previous three outings.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (outside of the D.C. and New York markets) MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 87 degrees, wind 9 mph in from left field 

The Nationals finalized a blockbuster deal this afternoon that is sending Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres for six players – both major and minor leaguers – that once completed represented the most dramatic trade deadline transaction in club history, and arguably in baseball history.

The nearly unprecedented package included Soto and Bell going to San Diego for a group of prospects that included two players who made their major league debuts this season (left-hander Mackenzie Gore and shortstop C.J. Abrams), plus three younger, top-rated prospects (right-hander Jarlin Susana, outfielders Robert Hassell and James Wood), as well as veteran first baseman Luke Voit.

Voit was added to the deal after fellow veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer informed the Padres he would not waive his partial no-trade clause to come to the Nationals. Hosmer wound up getting dealt to the Red Sox instead, with Voit now coming to Washington and expected to take over at first base in the coming days.

The deal came roughly six hours before the 6 p.m. trade deadline, but given the complexities and number of people involved, it needed to be agreed upon earlier in the day. General manager Mike Rizzo had been in talks with several other clubs, including the Cardinals and Dodgers, over the last few days but honed in on the Padres as deadline day arrived.

The Soto-Bell blockbuster, as it turns out, was the only trade the Nationals made today. The deadline came and went with no other moves made, per a club source, leaving Nelson Cruz, Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr., Steve Cishek, Cesar Hernandez, Maikel Franco and other potential trade candidates on the roster moving forward.

Davey Martinez submitted a lineup card for Monday night’s game a little after 3 p.m. By that point, the Nationals manager already knew utility man Ehire Adrianza had been traded, with Ildemaro Vargas called up from Triple-A Rochester to take his roster spot. Everything else, as far as he knew, remained the status quo.

Not that Martinez wasn’t acutely aware of the possibility something else could change before first pitch at 7:05 p.m. Any of a number of his regular members from the lineup or bullpen could be dealt away at any moment, so he made sure to consult with bench coach Tim Bogar about all the potential fallback plans should something occur either before, or during, the game against the Mets.

“We’ll see what happens in the next 48 hours,” Martinez said. “But we do have to think about the what-ifs – which I try not to, until it happens – but we’ve got to be prepared.”

By night’s end, there was no need for all that prep work. The Nationals made no more deals on Trade Deadline Eve, withholding everything for the final day, it appears.

If they’re going to part with Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr., Steve Cishek or anybody else, they’re going to have to do it in a hurry, with the deadline approaching at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Juan Soto is going to dominate the baseball news cycle for the next 20 hours leading up to Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline. If the Nationals end up trading the 23-year-old superstar, he’s going to be the biggest player acquired at this year’s deadline and possibly ever.

But for at least one more night, Soto was hitting third in manager Davey Martinez’s starting lineup, playing right field and wearing “Nationals” across his chest. And if this is the last time that will be the case, he gave Nats fans one last classic Juan Soto performance.

Facing old friend Max Scherzer in his first three plate appearances, Soto went 1-for-1 with a 421-foot home run and two walks, albeit in an eventual 7-3 loss to the Mets. He finished the night 1-for-1 with the homer, three walks, two runs scored and a stolen base in front of a crowd of 29,034 who were either rooting for him to stay in D.C. or rooting for him to go to New York.

“For me, I'm playing for the Nationals right now. I haven't heard anything yet. So for me, just another game that I play,” Soto said during a lengthy postgame meeting with the media.

In their first matchup in the bottom of the first inning, Soto was able to run the count full and draw a six-pitch walk. When Josh Bell, also still in the Nats lineup tonight, doubled down the right-field line, Soto advanced to third. But Mets right fielder Starling Marte threw the ball to second base with no one there, allowing both runners to advance and giving the Nats a quick 1-0 lead on Scherzer.

It’s been 16 days now, 16 long days, since the first report emerged of Juan Soto declining a 15-year, $440 million extension, prompting the Nationals to “entertain” the possibility of trading their star right fielder.

Everyone has been put through the ringer ever since. Soto, who can’t make it through a single day without somebody bombarding him with questions about his uncertain future. The Nats, who have attempted to walk the tightrope between seeking out legitimate trade offers while simultaneously stressing they still prefer Soto stays in D.C. for the long term. Local and national media members, who spend every waking minute trying to decipher whatever clues are out there about the team’s intentions. And, of course, fans who experienced the full range of emotions and are now bracing for whatever outcome is on the horizon.

An outcome that is now nearly ready to reveal itself.

At some point in the next 34 hours, the Nationals are either going to trade Soto to a contending club for perhaps the best prospects haul in baseball history, or they’re going to let Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline pass without making the move and allow this issue to be resolved at some later date.

Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a prediction for how this will play out. But the man in the middle of it all just wants to know, once and for all, whose uniform he’s going to be wearing the rest of the season.

With a chance to win a second consecutive series over a National League contender, the Nationals instead today did what they’ve done so many times over the last four months. They dug themselves into a hole with shaky defense and a penchant for giving up a big home run. And they did next-to-nothing offensively to give themselves a chance at coming back from that deficit.

So it was the Nats went down quietly to the Cardinals this afternoon, losing 5-0 in the rubber game of the weekend series and ending a miserable July on another uninspired note.

Fortunately, Saturday night’s dramatic win ensured this would not be the worst month in club history. Even with today’s loss, the Nationals finished July with a 6-19 record for a .240 winning percentage, narrowly besting July 2008 (.208) and April 2009 (.238) as the lowest points this franchise has experienced since arriving in town.

Now, though, the calendar shifts to August, and there is legitimate reason to worry the two months that remain this season could rival the just-completed one in terms of misery.

The next 48 hours will help determine that fate, as general manager Mike Rizzo decides who from his current 26-man roster to deal and who to retain before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline. Given how many potential moves are on the table, Rizzo may not have the luxury of waiting until Tuesday to start the process.

An inordinate amount of the Nationals’ offensive production this season has come via the bats (and the eyes) of Juan Soto and Josh Bell. Together, those two have accounted for 23 percent of the team’s hits, 28 percent of their runs, 42 percent of their walks and 43 percent of their homers.

So, imagine what this lineup would look like in August and September should Soto and Bell no longer be wearing curly W helmets at the plate. Actually, don’t imagine it. It’s too depressing.

Instead, just appreciate whatever time remains with these two larger-than-life sluggers batting back-to-back in Davey Martinez’s lineup. Just as a boisterous crowd of 34,440 did tonight as Soto and Bell helped lead the Nationals to a 7-6, come-from-behind win over the Cardinals.

Soto did his usual thing, reaching base four times (thrice via walks, once via single). And Bell did the thing he’s done regularly in his 1 1/2 years in D.C.: Deliver a big hit in a big moment, belting a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give his team the lead and elicit a roar from the crowd.

"Awesome. And well-deserved," Martinez said. "I'm not going to think about what's going to happen in the next few days. I just know that today was a great win for us, and he was a big part of it."

As the ball went soaring over the right field wall and into the home bullpen at Nationals Park, it was impossible not to take stock of the situation and consider what it may have meant for the present and future of both franchises competing in tonight’s series opener.

The two-run homer was hit by Nolan Gorman, one of the Cardinals’ top young players and likely one of the key pieces the Nationals would be seeking should St. Louis attempt to trade for Juan Soto in the coming days.

Soto, of course, was in right field for the Nats tonight, racing back to the wall in vain hopes of catching an uncatchable ball. On the mound was Aníbal Sánchez, who had been one pitch away from authoring his first quality start in the majors in two years but instead wound up charged with six runs in what ultimately was a 6-2 loss.

"Tough one today," manager Davey Martinez said. "We could've made a couple plays defensively, didn't do it early. I thought Sánchez until that last inning kept us in the ballgame. And we had some opportunities to score some runs, we couldn't do it."

In the opener of a weeklong homestand that could include plenty of drama leading up to Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Nationals were again overmatched by a superior opponent. Their lineup was rendered helpless by Miles Mikolas who allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings. And their chances of keeping the game within striking distance were significantly diminished when Sánchez served up back-to-back homers with two outs in the sixth: the first to Gorman, then a follow-up blast to Lars Nootbaar.

The Nationals are back in town at last for what could be an awfully eventful homestand. It begins tonight with the opener of a three-game series with the Cardinals, and a fun rematch of a famous game in franchise history. Remember the last time Aníbal Sánchez faced Miles Mikolas? That would be Game 1 of the 2019 NLCS. No word if Ryan Zimmerman plans to come out of retirement for one night so he can make a diving catch at first base and keep a no-hit bid alive.

Anyways, the Nats return from a successful series in Los Angeles, having won two of three. Now they face a good Cardinals club that in theory could leave town with a new right fielder. (Sorry, just telling you what’s within the realm of possibility at this point.)

Davey Martinez is sticking with Victor Robles in the leadoff spot, with the aforementioned Juan Soto batting third ahead of Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz. Ehire Adrianza gets another start at third base instead of Maikel Franco, the third time that’s the been the case in the last week.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 81 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
CF Victor Robles
2B César Hernández
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
DH Nelson Cruz
LF Yadiel Hernandez
SS Luis García
C Keibert Ruiz
3B Ehire Adrianza

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made his first public comments about the reports that Juan Soto rejected the Nats’ latest contract offer and the organization will now entertain trading the superstar before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline.

Rizzo, making his weekly appearance this morning on 106.7 The Fan’s “The Sports Junkies,” addressed everything from the team’s negotiations with Soto to his relationship with super agent Scott Boras to the organization’s ownership situation.

Last week, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Soto rejected a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Nationals and that the team will now entertain trading him before this year’s deadline. On the day of the report, Soto said he was upset that the details of the contract offer became public, and public opinion pointed the finger at the team.

“Leaks are just so difficult,” Rizzo said. “In this age of social media, who knows where some of these things come from? But all I can tell you, it unequivocally did not come from me for sure, 100 percent for sure, or from our front office. That much I know for sure. We had this information three weeks before it leaked out, so we had ample time to leak it out if we wanted to leak it out. … They never ever help a situation. It was disappointing to me, I was upset about it. And it's something that I'd just like to know who leaked it out just to have that information and make sure it didn't come from anybody in baseball operations.”

Rizzo doubled down that the Nationals were not the ones to leak the contract offer details, stating that doing so would not have benefitted the club in any aspect.

LOS ANGELES – What’s that you say? The Nationals have a chance tonight at a three-game winning streak? Why yes, that’s exactly what’s at stake this evening when they face the Dodgers in the second game of this series.

It’s going to take another stellar effort to beat L.A., of course, and that starts with the pitching staff, most notably starter Josiah Gray. After using up five relievers to pull off Monday night’s 4-1 victory – and having now used both Carl Edwards Jr. and Kyle Finnegan on back-to-back days – the Nats need quality and length tonight from Gray, who makes his return to Chavez Ravine.

The former Dodgers prospect made his first two career big league appearances here last summer (prior to the trade) and didn’t fare so well. He also didn’t fare so well when he faced the Dodgers in D.C. earlier this season, giving up seven runs in three innings, with three homers hit off him. Gray feels like he’s been able to shake off those jitters since, and heads into tonight’s start feeling better about the state of things, though he has struggled in two of his last three outings after a fantastic June.

The lineup looks similar to Monday’s arrangement, with Victor Robles batting leadoff again (as Davey Martinez promised). The most notable change, though, is the absence of Nelson Cruz. It’s been a miserable open to the second half for the 42-year-old, who is 0-for-14 with two walks and five strikeouts since the All-Star break. Obviously, he’s a name who has been on the trading block all year, though the way he’s been performing makes you wonder just how much interest there’s going to be in him now.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (outside D.C. and L.A. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 71 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

LOS ANGELES – Juan Soto, to no one’s surprise, found himself the center of attention again today at Dodger Stadium. One week ago, the Nationals star was celebrating victory in the Home Run Derby on this very field before an appreciative crowd. Tonight, he was left to try to ignore the awkward pleas of some among the gathering of 48,647 for him to trade in his curly W for Dodger blue.

By night’s end, though, that large gathering could only trudge out of this old ballyard muttering to themselves about how Soto and his Nationals teammates had just dismantled their boys to the tune of a 4-1 victory that included clutch hits and a whole lot of dominant relief pitching by a visiting team that entered with half as many wins as their star-laden opponents.

"It gets the team a lot more excited, especially after we did what we did against the pitcher of his caliber, with those great numbers," left fielder Yadiel Hernandez said of his team's ability to hand Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin his first loss of the season in his 18th start. "We were able to score those runs, and it creates more excitement for us to keep going and hopefully have more games like this."

Soto played his role in the Nats’ fifth-inning rally, chopping a two-run triple over first baseman Freddie Freeman’s head, but there were countless other contributors on this night, most notably the five relievers who each tossed a scoreless inning to make the win possible.

Turning to his bullpen in the fifth despite starter Paolo Espino’s success (and low pitch count), Davey Martinez asked the quintet of Andres Machado, Victor Arano, Hunter Harvey, Carl Edwards Jr. and Kyle Finnegan to close it out. And then watched as they did just that.