This morning, Mike Rizzo took to 106.7 the Fan's Sports Junkies to discuss the Washington Nationals' plans for the upcoming trade deadline and Juan Soto. One of the topics that came up during the interview was who leaked that Juan Soto declined a record-breaking 15 years and $440 million, terms first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal on July 16, right before the All-Star Game and break.
Juan Soto and his team were upset that this information leaked, and the finger-pointing started between the two camps responsible for this report.
According to Mike Rizzo, it looks like the leak didn't come from the GM: "All I can tell you is that Mike Rizzo did not leak the information or his people in the front office,” Rizzo said. “That’s what I know 100%. It did not help us in anything we were trying to do. It didn’t help us in keeping a good relationship with Juan, and it didn’t help us in any kind of leverage at the trade deadline. So it really it didn’t help us; it really hurt us that the information got out and it’s not the right thing to do.”