The day Nationals fans hoped would not come has arrived. Star outfielder Juan Soto – a two-time All-Star, the 2020 National League batting champ, a two-time Silver Slugger, and a key cog of the Nats’ 2019 World Series title – has left Nats Park.

The Nationals traded Soto and first basemen Josh Bell to the San Diego Padres in exchange for five minor league prospects.

The pair were the Nats’ two most valuable players, according to the Wins Above Replacement stat, which measures how many more wins that player could earn the team over a replacement-level player.

The trade also leaves the Nationals without their two top hitters. Soto led the Nationals with home runs (21), followed by Bell who hit 16. They both led the team in batting average, with Bell hitting .301 and Soto hitting .246.

Fans hoped Soto, the electric 23-year-old, would become the next face of the franchise after stars like Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, and Ryan Zimmerman left in free agency, faded, and retired in recent years. But Soto’s split with the team was telegraphed weeks ago after he turned down a record-breaking 15-year, $440 million contract to stay with the Nationals. Soto is two years away from free agency. Bell is on a one-year deal.

Soto joined the team in 2018 and won over fans with his personality, big bat, and his signature Soto shuffle, a little shimmy outside the batter’s box after correctly deciding whether a close pitch was a ball or strike.

And while Soto and Bell won’t play as a Nat in D.C. again, they are actually back in town next weekend – but they’ll be playing for the visiting Padres.

The trade signals that the Nationals are not competing for a championship any time soon and will embark on a rebuilding project that may look familiar to fans of the franchise’s early years getting off the ground in 2005. The future of the franchise is murky after unloading most of the roster. The owner, Mark Lerner, said he was exploring the sale of the team earlier this year.

As part of the trade, the Padres sent over first basement/designated hitter Luke Voit and some of their top prospects including left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore, shortstop C.J. Abrams, outfielders Robert Hassell III and James Wood, and right-handed pitcher Jarlin Susana. Hassell is the Padres’ number one prospect, Wood is listed at number three.

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Writers for USA Today’s For The Win ranked the deal an “A” for the Padres and a “D-” for the Nats.