Juan Soto overcomes JRod, contract talk to win HR Derby

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Juan Soto bet heavily on his own talent and health by turning down a massive, long-term contract extension from the Washington Nationals.

Soto then went to the Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium and showed why he almost certainly can’t lose.

Soto won the Derby for the first time Monday night, holding off Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodríguez 19-18 in the final.

The 23-year-old Soto hit 53 total homers, beating each of his three opponents by one homer while hitting second each time in the midseason power showcase. Soto was locked in at the plate even after spending an hour earlier at Chavez Ravine answering repeated questions about his possible departure from the Nats after turning down a reported $440 million offer.

“It feels amazing. It feels tiring,” said Soto, a reserve on the NL All-Star team for Tuesday's Midsummer Classic. “I just tried to concentrate to square off the balls, because I know I have the power.”

With a big celebratory bat flip after the final homer dropped into the stands, Soto became the second-youngest Home Run Derby winner in baseball history — by a single day. At 23 years and 266 days old, Soto is only one day older than Juan González was when he won in 1993.

Soto hit a 482-foot blast to right-center while beating Cleveland’s José Ramírez 18-17 in the first round, and he got past 42-year-old Albert Pujols 16-15 to reach the final.

Rodríguez was even more impressive in the first two rounds while signaling his arrival on baseball's biggest stages, particularly when he knocked off two-time defending champion Pete Alonso of the Mets 31-23 in the second round. Only four players had managed to hit 30 homers in a single Derby round before the Mariners' 21-year-old phenom did it twice,