The Juan Soto contract extension dance has begun between Scott Boras and the Nationals

Both discussed Juan Soto and his future in D.C. If Soto doesn’t sign an extension, he will hit free agency after the 2024 season. The clock is ticking.

“Juan Soto wants to win,” Boras said when asked if there was an offer the Nationals could make — right now — that would get the 23-year-old star to sign a long-term extension. “So the first thing that’s going to have to happen is that he knows that he’s working with an ownership that’s going to annually try to compete and win. And then I think once he knows that, then he’ll be ready to sit down and talk whenever they choose to talk.”

Rizzo’s response?

“We’ve made it known that we want Juan to be a long-term National,” Rizzo told The Washington Post at MLB’s general managers’ meetings. “It’s no secret. We’ve talked to the player himself; we talked to Scott before. … As of this point, he and I haven’t sat down and discussed it in depth. But we’ve spoken in generalities and that type of thing, and he knows our thought process on it. It will be something we want to talk to him about — being here for a long, long time.”

Why Juan Soto should be the National League MVP

Since the all-star break, Soto’s on-base percentage is .535. It’s a number that should be stared at and marveled over. He has reached base in more than half of his plate appearances in what approaches half the season. Given that reaching base invariably helps your team — indeed, it is the base objective of any appearance in the batter’s box — that percentage is staggering. Then, add some context: According to baseball-reference.com, here are the hitters who have reached base at a higher clip in the second half of any season in history: Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth three times apiece, Ted Williams twice, and Rogers Hornsby once.

I did not realize how well he was doing in the second half.