But only one made a splash like Juan Soto. The superstar outfielder, who could soon be a new teammate of any other All-Stars teammate, was the center of attention Monday — and that was before he put on a show in the final round to win the Home Run Derby. With his agent, Scott Boras, standing a few feet away, Soto fielded questions about his uncertain future and sudden availability leading up to the Aug. 2 MLB trade deadline after rejecting the Nationals’ 15-year extension offer of 440 million dollars. The 23-year-old Soto, who is under contract until 2024, has insisted he would like to stay with the Nationals, the only team he has ever known since signing with them as an international free agent in 2015. But that decision may no longer be up to him after rejecting their last contract offer. So, of course, Soto was asked Monday about potential landing spots like Los Angeles, San Diego and, of course, New York. “Playing in New York against the Mets, I love it,” Soto said. “I like playing against them, hitting the ball hard. If you look at my numbers in that field, it’s just amazing. Against them, it’s a great feeling.” Juan Soto takes center stage in Los Angeles ahead of All-Star GameAP In 30 career games at Citi Field, Soto is hitting .350 with 10 home runs and a 1.173 OPS. It has haunted Mets pitchers, though they have plenty of company in that regard. Then there’s the possibility that Soto and his left-handed swing will become more familiar with the small terrace at Yankee Stadium. “I’ve never hit the ball over there,” said Soto, who has three home runs in four career games in the Bronx but went twice to the opposite field and once to right-center. “Playing against the Yankees is pretty cool, hearing the noise and shutting it out.” Where Soto lands could change the complexion of October’s playoff race and baseball — if, in fact, he is traded in the next two weeks — for both the team that gets him and the one they’ll have to find how are they going to get him out? “You know where I really don’t want him to go — I don’t want him to go to Boston,” Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said. “But if he’s going to leave, I want him to come to us.” “I’d hate to see him go to a team we’re going to have to play under,” Yankees star Aaron Judge said. “It would be fun to see him in New York or wherever he wants to be.” Gerrit Cole hopes Juan Soto doesn’t join one of the Yankees’ potential playoff opponents. Michelle Farsi/New York Post Of course, it would fit in the other end of New York. “It would be amazing,” Mets All-Star Starling Marte said of sharing the outfield with Soto. “He’s one of those guys who doesn’t have any flaws.” “I hope we get a chance to have him on our team,” Mets All-Star closer Edwin Diaz said. The Yankees and Mets in attendance weren’t the only ones talking about the possibility of adding the generational talent to their lineup — Manny Machado, for example, said he hoped Soto would be wearing a Padres uniform soon — even if he Soto wasn’t excited about extension talks and the possibility of a trade being made public. “A couple of weeks ago, they were saying they were never going to trade me,” Soto said. “Now all these things have come out. It feels really uncomfortable. You don’t know what to trust. But at the end of the day, it’s not in my hands what decision they make.” The Nationals could still throw a wrench into any potential drafts and not deal him before the trade deadline. But at least for one day, Soto’s fellow All-Stars allowed themselves to dream a little. “I can only say historically, whoever trades Juan Soto usually has to say to themselves, ‘How do I get a replacement for Juan Soto?’ Boras said. “If that replacement comes in four pods, instead of one, and those pods are at different levels of the game — I wouldn’t want to be the one who’s the advocate who has to explain the comparability of that. “I think it would be an extremely difficult process as we know that the person who gets Juan gets the direct benefit of a player who is excellent and in his prime.”
