Oh, to be 23 years old and able to turn down a $440M contract! Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals just did that. The obvious reason is that some team will trade for him and pay him more than than $440M. He is still under contract through 2025, but this young star is a franchise type player and where ever he ends up, he will be the face of the franchise because he is loaded with talent and of course…..potential. And he will be a very wealthy young man. How much is potential worth in today’s sports market? Apparently a lot. But playing in Washington is not where he wants to make his mark. He already has a World Series ring, but he wants more. He wants the big stage. But be careful what you ask for, because the lights on the “big stage” can get awfully hot. But this kid seems to have all the tools (ability, youth, charisma and of course….potential). And barring injury, which is always a possibility, he will be a star in baseball for the next 10 to 13 years. The way Jeter, Judge, Trout, Othani and the like have cemented their names with the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, Williams, Mays in baseball lore (well,almost like those legends!). That is a lot of pressure for a young man like Soto.  But he is not lacking in confidence, so he is worth taking a chance on. Would love to see him pinstripes playing for the Yankees, but there is another team in New York that would love to have him play for the Mets. Like my partner Steve says time and time again…”yeah, it’s about the money”!   But this young man knows exactly where he wants to go. We just don’t where that is. So start the bidding, because there is only 3 days until the trade deadline. We will discuss this more in depth on Sports with Mono and Mono  on YouTube and Facebook this week of course. Have a great week!