Now that Manny Machado’s 10-year, $300MM deal with the Padres has been announced, Bryce Harper and agent Scott Boras have a definitive bar to attempt to clear as they seek a record-setting contract of their own. Yesterday’s slate of rumors on Harper had a series of updates on how the Phillies, Nats, White Sox and Giants view the former NL MVP now that Machado is off the board. Here’s a look at the latest chatter on “Harper’s Bazaar” as the long, drawn-out saga inches toward a resolution…
- MLB.com’s Jon Morosi joined Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area for Pavlovic’s latest Giants Insider podcast (audio link; Harper talk beginning around 12:45), wherein Morosi called an 11-year contract for Harper “very possible.” As others have done before him, Morosi suggested that Harper is expected to receive a larger contract than the one Machado received in San Diego.
- Coming away from their pursuit of Machado empty-handed has “heightened” the Phillies’ pursuit of Harper, writes Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Breen writes that the organization is confident it’ll be able to sign the six-time All-Star, adding that the Phils “will be much more reluctant to walk away this time.” General manager Matt Klentak spoke candidly this week about the fact that Machado’s price point simply got to a point that exceeded the team’s valuation of Machado. It’s not clear whether the organization will take a similarly practical approach to Harper in the end, but Breen notes that the front office and ownership are keenly aware of how the public would perceive a scenario in which the Phillies fail to sign either Harper or Machado.
- Padres ownership will meet tomorrow to determine if it is feasible to make a run at signing Harper in addition to signing Machado, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. As one would expect, Heyman notes that such a scenario is not at all considered likely, but it seems that the organization’s partners will at least perform due diligence and see if such a strategy can be pieced together. Heyman further tweets that for the Nationals, the ultimate call on Harper will come down to Ted Lerner (despite the fact that in 2018, Lerner ceded control of the organization to his son, Mark). The elder Lerner’s relationship with Boras is well-documented, though virtually every report out of D.C. over the past several weeks has suggested that the Nationals won’t be a top bidder for Harper.
- Bruce Levine of 670 The Score / CBS Chicago reports that the White Sox will not bid on Harper, echoing similar sentiments reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale yesterday. Levine notes that the organization is quite high on some of its outfield prospects, noting that the ChiSox could make a short-term pickup in the outfield to help bridge the gap to that young talent.
I don’t care ! Blah
It’s a dilemma,the Team you want to go to hasn’t given you the duration of the contract you want and the team you don’t have interest in gives you what you want,hmm
$300M or $350M. One hell of a dilemma, indeed.
Not once anywhere did Harper mention he doesn’t want to go to Philly. Not once anywhere did Harper mention he does want to go to San Diego or San Fran.
We have to be careful with the rumor mill. There’s a lot of reports out there with gossip taken as fact, but there are no Harper quotes about his preference.
I fully believe he’d love to play in Philly with his buddy Hoskins. I also think he’d love to play in San Diego or San Fran. The only thing I am certain of is that Harper wants to land the best deal possible.
I believe that Harper would love to play in Houston.
If they pay him, I bet he would.
I’ve been saying that since the off season began..not one time has anyone posted a quote from either Machado or Harper of their not wanting to go to Philly…..Yesterday, someone provided a link..I clicked on the link (something I usually don’t do) and low and behold, it was from NY and Sherman again..At the top of the thread was the word ‘RUMOR”…I’m still waiting.
I’m used to disappointment being a Phan, so, if the Phils can’t find their stupid money, they still did put together a nice off season and they have a pretty good team.
I wanted Manny and Harper both. I still think Maikel Franco is a solid offensive player and will get better. I really want to see Harper in that lineup…that lefty bat in Citizens Bank Park will be huge..his numbers will shrink in that cavern in SF.
If Kansas City offered him 11 years, $400M, he’d sign there. Harper only wants the most money. Period.
It’s only a dilemma if the player only cares about the money. I’d take less money if it meant I could be happy playing at a preferred destination.
W E. S. T
@Payne that about says it all, albeit four months too late.
Cough cough Yankees
xabial you’ll catch pneumonia before the Yankees sign him
X, again keep the faith and ignore all the creepers.
Yyyyaaaaaaawn!!
New rumor: Phillies management figures out they are the only team actually bidding.
I honestly think they are bidding against themselves.
Sadly, I agree. So, in addition to over-paying for his on-field talents, we’ll be getting and subsidizing his off-field flaws and toxicity as well. “Stupid money” indeed.
I think his “toxicity” is quite overblown. I only remember an incident with Papelbon, and I think it’s fairly known that Papelbon had problems with lots of players.
Not to mention the fact that Harper and Hoskins are already friends. I don’t forsee any clubhouse issues if the Phillies land Harper.
I think the toxicity is not toxicity as long as you have people willing to play second fiddle to him. The moment there is another ego the size of his on the team, that’s where it breaks down. Washington didn’t have that besides Papelbon (who, you’re right, was toxic in his own right).
Harper and Scherzer jawed at each other a bit, Scherzer having called him out for not hustling down to first on a grounder. But that was private and everything reported second-hand by other players. Not surprising Max took him to task.
Harper did have a very poor rep early on, even before he got drafted.
But… At this point if he’s a d-bag he’s definitely not a big enough d-bag to affect his earning power.
@stymeedone LOL if that could be proven as fact it would make all of this ridiculousness worthwhile – hilarious! Does anyone else think Farhan might be asking himself at this point why he ever got on the plane to Vegas?
Harper clearly does want to play for those POS Philly fans lol… SD might actually get a discount.
Now why would he eliminate his best chance at a record contract? Announcing that he hates Philly and doesn’t wanna play for the Phillies wouldn’t be smart business and it probably drive Boras out of the picture.
Who said anything about any of those things? No one has said a thing about Harper announcing he hates Philly.
Fans have been saying that every day since the hot stove league started, yet not one can show where he said it..
Harper has never said that.
Fans have been saying that about Philadelphia for decades.
Totally made up by a Met’s beat writer – have you ever been to Philly? We’re just people like everywhere else – a few jack wagons who seem to get the attention of the national media, but mostly just normal people.
My guess is that the high bidder is under $300 million (since Machado is the better player) and Boras’ ego is waiting this out in hopes a team gets desperate and overpays.
The offer isn’t lower than Manny’s. Harper is more marketable and more likely to hold value long-term vs Manny. I think he’s just hoping a West Coast team will give him the record breaking contract that he wants. Right now, appears only Philly will do that – unless there’s a mystery team waiting in the wings.
I do agree Harper is more marketable, but he’s also more inconsistent and therefore a higher risk – it will be interesting to see how it plays out
Free hair gel was missing. Gotta keep that tool bag look and rep intact. He hit .249 last season. 34 hrs is great but…. .249 in his prime?
Like my Dodgers? Why do the salary dump of Kemp Wood and Puig if not to make room for Harper?
103 runs
100 rbis
.393 OBA
With the salary they took back, they didn’t dump much. That move was more about clearing outfield space for Verdugo than it was about dumping salary.
Well, I’ve mentioned BA’s before and I get taken to the cleaners and told that that’s a stupid stat and a terrible way to judge a player, so…
lol. I agree, he’s not the talent he was supposed to be, but he’ll get his contract.
What have I ever done to be a POS?
Your mom is a P.O.S go Phillies 19 W.C harper wilp be a phillie
Hey max baseball your dad is a P.O.S go Phillies soon to be 2019 i hope your mom gets sick max baseball hahaha whooooo
As Mario Mario would say, bing bing wahoo.
English is preferred
I just don’t get why people hate Philly sports fans
It started with rough Eagles and NY sports writers. There was definitely some truth to it back in the 60s and 70s, but it’s all blown out of proportion, and certainly not true of Phillies fans. Citizens Bank is a beautiful family-friendly park with great fans. But it’s easier to believe the rumors.
incredible insight. pretty sure he doesnt care who the fans are. you could probably name at least a dozen things that are definitely more important to him in chosing where he wants to go.
A dozen things that Bryce Harper cares most about when signing a contract:
1) Money
2) Repeat #1 eleven more times
if Padres signed Harper they still wouldn’t be ready to compete, but man Petco Park would be as fun as it’s ever been.
Not a Padres fan but would be interesting to see him sign there.
Yah for real, same here
Haha we already pushing for a wc…
Not quite, but we’re getting close
If the Padres sign Harper, two of their current OF plus a few prospects would be on the way out the door in trade for starting pitching. They have 6 OF vying for 3 spots and Harper would make it 7. It would be going all in to win.
With all the great pitching already in their system, they could trade away 2-3 of their 9 pitching prospects that are in or close to the top 100 overall and still have one of the best farm systems in baseball. Those pitchers are Gore (#15), Paddack (34), Patino (48), Morejon (49), Baez (72), Allen(74), Weathers (93), Espinoza (13 before TJ surgery), and Quantrill (#8 pick 1st rd).
in addition to the prospects, don’t sleep on another young arm Eric Lauer
I agree, though it would totally depend on other teams willing to trade for our outfielders. So far that hasn’t seemed to happen to the liking of S.D. front office. Best case would be Myers + prospect for a decent/bounce back candidate starting pitcher
So, who is actually in on the bidding? The Phillies for sure. The Padres maybe. Anyone else? Giants won’t go long-term. White Sox are out. Yankees seem to have fallen asleep. Any dark horse candidates? If not, it seems to be the Phillies bidding against themselves unless the Padres get really really stupid with some stupid money and prioritize Harper over some “more-needed” pitching.
Just because the Giants, at one point, hoped to sign Harper to a shorter term contract, doesn’t mean they’re walking away after Harper said he wasn’t interested in anything short term. The fact that SF was reported to still be in it, after Harper said he wanted a long term contract, suggests they may have revised their stance.
Who the hell would downvote what you said tad2b13? You’re exactly right. San Francisco has the money if they want to throw it at anyone. And the fact that the Giants ARE still in it means they’re probably kicking the bucket on a long term deal. Probably just as cautious as Philadelphia on bidding against themselves. If they throw (around) 11 years 330 mill at him I’m sure with the Giants being on the west coast he’ll jump at it. Now bring on the downvotes for a possible scenario. Lol
You guys could both be correct as well. I haven’t heard that to be the case, but at this point, anyone attempting to match the Phils probably won’t be speaking too loudly about it.
I don’t believe the Giants wanted anyone to know they were kicking the can on Harper. So it seems they are tight lipped on all of this. Philadelphia jumped out the gate saying they were going to spend STUPID money so they kindve buried themselves with high expectations with there fan base. If they don’t land him, which I think they will, the fans will be disappointed, to some extent.
tipsy, it was copied, probably word for word from another site. no credit given
Troll — sorry, what was copied?
Thanks Tipsy. I have no idea if the Giants have revised their stance and are willing to longer term, but why totally rule it out. I was only stating what the possibilities were. I guessing the down votes are from biased fans of other teams that only want to read good things about their team.
Yeah troll, I’d like to know where you think I copied my post from. Or are you just living up to your username.
Not all Phillies fans would be disappointed; some us would be jumping for joy. Beyond his obvious talent or the amount of wins he cold bring (including in the postseason), the potential toxicity he would bring to the clubhouse/organization FAR outweighs any of his on-field contributions. And to pay “stupid money” on this when there are more legitimate and less destructive FA’s on deck in the next couple of years is just – well, “stupid”. Walk away Matt.
This idea that the Phillies will not be able to spend on other free agents if they get Harper is completely false. The Phils have a ton of money to spend. If they can land harper for 330, they’ll be just fine to spend big on Trout or anyone else in the future.
Williams and Altherr struggled offensively all year. It’s a huge hole in the lineup. I get that fans balk at these huge contracts, but 10 years 330 will not harm the Phillies at all, and their lineup will be vastly improved.
Balk, exactly..I’ll feel very let down
Correct on Philly expectations. For the past couple seasons every time there was an opportunity to improve the team, Todd Zolecki, the Phillies voice on the teams website, used this off-season’s FA talent pool as an excuse for the teams lack of effort. He was even condescending at times, or at least that’s how I saw it.. So now here we are and one of the big fish has been caught by someone else and the other is sniffin’ at a couple other worms, and may not want to even be a Phillie….our fear all along…
Von, the fact that Williams and Altherr struggled all year (2018) is irrelevant. That by itself s not a reason to sign Harper. Harper himself struggled in 2016. Machado struggled in 2017.
I’m not saying that AA/NW are on par with Harchado, but I don’t put much stock in 1 year of struggling. Most players have a down year in their careers.
The question of whether you sign Harper to a contract of the type he wants is whether you think he’ll be worth the money for the life of the contract, and IMHO – whether he will be worth the money YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT.
His track record of inconsistency lead me to believe that he’s not going to be worth the money he is asking, and that the money would be best spent elsewhere.
Personally, I don’t think that he’s as good an all around player as Machado, gets injured too often (Harper’s averaged 142 games the last 4 years; Machado has averaged 159 – that’s $2.77MM more value (on a 30MM contract) from Manny just by showing up for those games), has been hurt by the shift in recent years (which is likely to continue) and is an average defensive player at best.
IMO on the field he’s not worth as much as Machado, and I wouldn’t pay him as much.
I’ve said this before – if Middleton agrees to give Harper the contract he and Boras want, then it’s not Middleton’s money that is “stupid”.
They walked away from the better player.
They should walk away from Harper..
tad, I agree with that…I’d hate to see it, but it very well could happen..I just wonder if hew will take into consideration the fact his numbers could be effected by that large park..I know of the success Bonds had, but Harper is not Barry
Yankees are set. They don’t need Harper. And kudos to Cashman for NOT signing Machado. That Stanton contract still has a few years to go. They won 100 games without those two and they are set at every position to make another run.
Set? You have no pitching. None. Severino was a fluke and Tanaka is nowhere as reliable as you think. Baltimore has better pitching than NYY.
I am no Yankee fan, but they signed two solid starting pitchers this offseason. The Yankees don’t really have any holes that need plugging.
I thought Lenny Bruce was dead? I think you are drunk sir. So I will excuse your complete idiocy.
The comment about Severino leads me to believe that you just dislike the Yankees… he’d be the Ace on probably 26 other teams.
And the Giants lie in the dark waiting to strike!
As much as I want Harper to just sign already, I don’t think it would be smart for the giants to sign him. They have maybe one season before their new Gm starts the rebuild, and signing a superstar to a lengthy deal isn’t what you do before you start a rebuild.
There will never be a rebuild dude. Big market team with big dollars. They own there own park, big tv contracts, Oracle park developing buildings next to the park. They may move pieces but they will always try and contend for there fans. No fans=no money=no rebuild.
So you say the Giants will contend this year? And what difference does it make where Oracle is. Strange comment. I’ll have what you’re smoking.
Good comment. Everyone knows that these huge long term contracts don’t pan out. Look at Pujols. As a Brewers fan I hope we never get sucked into this. I mean how many more games will the Phillies win with him in the lineup.
You did, Ryan Braun
Harper is younger than Pujols was when he go his deal.
(sings) I know it’s been said, many times, many ways…
Pujols was slightly older when he signed his ten year pact…
Joey Vottos long term deal has worked out just fine for the Reds. Even in a down year last year he led the NL in OBP. I expect to see his power numbers to come back this year, he’s just to good a hitter to be held down for long. If the power don’t come back he’ll still be on base a lot with quite a few players with pop behind him.
Bryce had some deep dish pizza for lunch, but then had sushi for dinner. So now…
Either way, we agree, all Philly food sucks.
Mack83, So, You’ve been to Morimoto’s and hated it? Been to Jose Garces and thought it was trash food? Suraya, Vernick, Vetri Cucina etc etc..
I live in NYC, but I love traveling to Philly, and my favorite part is the food. It goes far beyond cheesesteaks (which are also delicious).
I still say SF is the perfect fit.
Worst fit in the league for a LH power bat. But yeah…
Literally the worst-fit of anybody. It would be “stupid money” cause they still wouldn’t have playoff chances for years
In what way are the Giants a perfect fit.An aging team with about 1 or 2 years before tearing it all down is a perfect fit.In that case Detroit is a perfect fit Miami is a perfect fit Baltimore is a perfect fit Arizona is a perfect fit Toronto is a perfect fit and Texas is a perfect fit
Texas would be a perfect fit, he’d crank 45-50+ dingers in Texas lol
Say hey!
Boras is a lunatic and shakedown artist
These outrageous contracts should be banned!
It’s not about winning the World Series anymore, it’s about who gets the biggest contract, that is the World Series for a lot of players these days and I think the fans are getting tired of the circus!
Shaking down billionaires for his clients who are rarely paid what they’re worth in their prime…what a terrible guy!
That’s marvelous, if there were no owners, there would be no teams!
Plus, those billionaires did not get rich by owning ball club!!
SMH
And if there were no players worth watching there would be no teams either. After all, that’s how it all started, with players, not owners. And how the owners got rich is irrelevant. There is a pie of revenue, and the real talent, what people actually pay to see, deserve a fair-sized slice, The owners aren’t going broke, and certainly don’t deserve to get a whole lot richer off the players. They own teams for the status and the fun of owning a sports team, not to add to their billions. If they want to do that capitalism provides plenty of better options.
Lefty has it right. Sorry Zippy, if there is a shakedown its on the paying fans and not the owners.
Maybe fans should think about themselves rather than choose sides between owners and players.
Blame the owners all you want. They have to think about the organization outside of the players and employ people. Obviously the anti-owners do not care about job creation or the little people that help build a franchise.
Yeah. Gold star for your comment. So the top three FA remaining are Harper, Keuchel and Kimbral. The one thing they have common? That snake in the grass Boras who every year keeps his top clients out the market till the very end. Why? Because the more they make the more he gets in commission. Players who have Boras for a client are fools. Half of the GM’a hate his guts and the other half tell him to go pound sand. Any agent who makes demands to clubs (remember forcing the Nats to shut down Strasburg in the heat of the pennant race?)
I don’t think Boras is Kimbrel’s agent.
Boras has consistently gotten the highest contract possible for his clients, which (like it or not) is his job. You truly can’t say “Players who have Boras for a client are fools,” considering the long track record Boras has ON BEHALF OF his clients.
This is like watching poker on TV.
More like taking salvia and experiencing what it is like being paint on a wall for 50 years.
Like watching poker on tv but without the pocket cams to know what each player actually has in their hand. Instead it’s just reporters speculating that everyone has a pocket pair but also might fold…
The case: Philadelphia is the most willing to give Harper the type of contract he wants. The catch: Harper would prefer to play in a west coast city, and the reason he hasn’t signed yet is because Boras is still waiting to see if San Diego or San Francisco will match Phillys offer. If they do, Harper signs. If they don’t, Harper goes to Philly. This is all just my speculation, feel free to disagree.
That is as good a hypothesis as any other. I don’t think the Giant will jump. But will the Pads?
Sounds about right.
Sounds about spot on. Maybe they’ll reach a verdict soon.
I disagree.. Harper has played his entire career on the East Coast. He hired Boras because Boras gets players the most money. He’d sign with Philly in a heartbeat if the Phillies would meet the number Boras gave them. They haven’t. He’d sign with San Diego or San Francisco or anyone else if they’ll meet the number. No one has.
So Boras will wait until someone does.
The Machado deal has to be encouraging to him. The Padres might’ve given Machado $50 million more than the next highest bidder. The Padres may have been bidding against themselves but they wanted Machado to say yes. So they met the number. It’s possible the Phillies wanted Machado but didn’t believe anyone would outbid them.
The Phillies likely have the best offer on the table and want Harper the most. Boras is hoping the Phillies get anxious and blink first. He wants them to believe that there’s no deadline for Harper to sign.
Also a distinct possibility as well. Of course, there is another possibility (among others): both are true. Harper and Boras wait for the key numbers to be whispered in their ear. If they don’t hear it, they look at what they got. If the Phillies have the most, but he doesn’t want to play there as much as on a West Coast team, Boras does the whispering this time. If Boras gets no return whisper, Phillies it is.
Last year the Phillies told Boras they’d go 3 years and $75 million on Jake Arrieta. I don’t know if the Cubs offered Arrieta the Darvish contract. If they did, he turned it down. Did Arrieta want the Phillies? No idea on that either but by early March they had the best offer and Arrieta signed on their terms. The Phillies stared down Scott Boras and won. They may feel they can do that again.
There were reports of philly offering him 11/330.. I just don’t think he wants to play for philly, especially living in Vegas, he’d be a lot closer to home playing on the west coast
how does this get mostly downvotes? seems like the most anxious scenario to me..
I agree, I think he is waiting for SD or SF to at least match what Philly has on the table. I am perplexed why the ChiSox don’t want to meet that figure or even Toronto for that matter. Harper would be a great compliment to either Eloy or Vlad Jr for the next decade.
He is not going to sign on the heels of Machado. He’s giving it the weekend for everyone to get their final offers in. The Phillies have to be careful not to fall for Boras’ trap. I think only one team is truly in on Harper.
To Phillies for 10 years/$340 million..I do agree he’d prefer the West Coast, although I’m not sure about San Diego.. He would love hitting at Citizens Bank Park.
Petco is not as pitcher friendly as it used to be back in the day. Its a pretty fair ballpark now
That right field porch would be perfect for Harper
Most home runs by a visitor and highest OPS at CBP amongst active players.
But are those CBP stats meaningful?
He came up in 2012 when Philly started its’ slide, so he wasn’t facing Halladay and Lee in their primes. When he’s faced Cole Hamels he’s put up a .235/.395/.265 line – good OBP, but not much else.
So most of those CBP stats are against some pretty bad pitching and the PAs happened to take place at CBP.
If he signs in Philly it will be interesting to see how well he does against some of the other pitching in the division.
Here’s what he’s done overall against opposing pitchers face to face:
baseball-reference.com/play-index/batter_vs_pitche…
Yep right about there I was thinking $330 Boras wants to top Staton contract!
Harper was married in San Diego, even though he lives in Las Vegas and his wife is from Las Vegas.
I gotta believe it’s the Phils. If it ain’t, then the Padres future looks extremely bright. Sorry Giants.
Padres will sign harper and then they will immediately turn around and make a trade for one of the braves young pitchers by using their surplus of outfielders and bullpen piece. The Padres will also try and shed unnecessary salary
The Padres have as much pitching prospects as the Braves. They should sign him, trade an outfielder and prospects for DeGrom and/or Thor, but if Thor not Gore. Gore plus makes it sound more reasonable. The corner outfielder would probably go somewhere else for a bp piece. Then (especially if they can trade Myers) they sign a starter in the off-season and pray to the God’s they can land Trout. They could just trade for Thor to consolidate 40 man roster, and prepare for DeGrom and Trout in 2021.
There must be gold in them there hills of San Diego.
If it’s true that he’d prefer a west coast team, Arte Moreno should make at least some attempt to gauge his interest with the number of suitors seemingly so small.
I really don’t think the giants would sign Harper before they start a rebuild.
Padres are wasting their time. they have NO pitching, and their best top prospects are position players… sad story.. cant last in the playoffs not even having 1 decent pitcher. much less a formidable rotation.
Most of their top prospects are pitchers actually. Several of which would be THE top prospect in many other systems. It just so happens that they have several elite position prospects at the very top of their team rankings. I do not think that they will make the playoffs this year, but you will be hearing plenty about Padres pitching in the near future…
7 in top 100. 4 in top 50.
And the other obvious thing you overlook, Wolverine, is that prospects can be traded for good pitching. I don’t think good pitching will be as difficult to achieve as you think it will. It certainly won’t be cheap, but the Pads have enough prospects that they can afford to groom some and trade others.
Sorry — that above post shouldn’t say wolverine but strosbro
LOL. They have 4 pitching prospects in the MLB top 50.
Yeah because pitching prospects always pan out. Remember that, at one point in time, Matt Moore was the #1 overall prospect. So was Phil Hughes. LOL indeed. I wouldn’t count too heavily on some top 50 pitching prospects.
Tad — There is always a level of uncertainty and risk. That is why the best bet would be/have been for the Pads to trade for a Kluber (I can’t remember how much control is left on Kluber — but they would want 3 years plus) or Snydgaarden, and probably another controllable starter.
Hughes was never the No. 1 prospect. Highest he achieved was No. 7 (2007). Highest Moore was ranked was No. 3 (2011).
Of last year’s 10 pitchers (by WAR), nine were Top 50 prospects. The only exception is Kluber.
7 of the Padres prospects that are in the top 100 prospects are pitchers.
It was just determined that the Padres’ minor league system is the best in baseball and as one who posted previously they have the most pitching prospects than anyone else. Some of these comments are either made with tongue in cheek or have absolutely no knowledge about the game.Dunderheads all!
For the White Sox sure until Basabe broke his hand…not saying he is a make or break but just shows nothing is guaranteed with relying on prospects
It’s completely asinine that Harper should even be considered for a deal bigger than Machados. Harper is easily one of the most overrated free agents in recent memory
In 2 of the past 4 seasons Harper has had an OPS over 1.000. Can you name even one other player that has done that before their 26th birthday other than Trout?
He’s only hit .300 twice in his career, strikes out more than he walks and more being this power machine has only topped 30 hrs twice in a season.
He’s also had an OPS under .850 in 2 of the last 5 years. Don’t those count too?
Bravo
I heard the Braves just narrowly missed out on getting Bryce….AA offered Bryce a whopping 1 year/ 3.5 million deal, then Terry ‘The Closer’ Mcguirk walked in and said:..”Brycee, we’re also going to throw in free hats for the entire season!….But, you gotta pay for the jerseys tho, them things are expensive”….. Smh , if only we offered free Jerseys Harper would be a Brave already…oh well
Gonna go out on a limb here and say comedy’s not really your strong suit.
The best comedy is when a joke is so bizarre or off the mark that it causes dead silence in a room of 25+ people, except for that one guy who can’t contain himself.
but you responded so that means it hilarious bwhahaha….its funny because its true
we all are commenting on a blog site…gonna say comedy is probably none of our strong suits lol
Your comment would have been funnier if you said this:
Braves offered Machado 12 years at $400 million to play Third Base a few weeks ago.
On second thought, that would have been believable.
I got it and I thought it was decent. Sadly true of Liberty Media. I think Ted Turner would have signed him.
your actually spot on, but you know AA will wait until the 10 yr contract is up to offer him at the age of 37 for about 23 million.. funny they cant understand your comedy bc their not braves fans
I’m a huge Braves fan. Just not amused by 10 year old, low-hanging fruit humor.
Imagine, Myers, Harper, Machado, Hosmer.
Tough lineup to face
Walk ’em, get the rest of the lineup out and then score 20 runs against their pitching.
Myers will most certainly be traded. I think they would have to have a deal in place to move that contract before they sign Harper. 4/73 is owed or $18 mil avg per season. I think Wil can have a 3+ war year this year. That’s gotta be at least worth $15 mil per. So Padres wouldn’t have to eat that much, or attach a prospect or 3, to the Indians for Bauer.
Myers is guaranteed $66 million. $3 million in 2019, $20 million each in 2020-2022, and an option buyout for 2023. Cots MLB Contracts
Great comment!
Don’t you ever suggest the Indians taking Wil Myers and his bloated contract in a Trevor Bauer trade again! You should be ashamed…
The Giants have an aging roster & one of the worst farm systems in baseball.. I’m not sure giving Harper a long-term, big-money deal is the best thing for the organization. Sure Harper makes them better, but he can’t make up for all of the issues the team has. This team needs an overhaul and an influx of young talent. Signing Harper to a huge deal hinders their ability to do that
Absolutely Eric. Someone who actually knows something.
Stop listing Jon Heyman like he has credibility
“Jon Heyman on WFAN: “I’ve heard from a number of people that don’t talk to Scott Boras that (Bryce Harper) is not that enamored with Philly… he’s been there enough to have an impression… Philly is an acquired taste… Philly would not be near his top choice.””
He’s talked to a num,ber of people that DON’T TALK TO SCOTT BORAS.
Wow. Me too Jon. ME TOO.
Well, as a Phillies fan who does not want him at the dollars he is asking that is fine with me.
Don’t sign in Philadelphia. Please.
nonadhominem – 2 of us agree
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i was always kind of assuming Boras was feeding Heyman the garbage he puts out.
The Phillies don’t want bid against themselves and they don’t want to overpay if they don’t have to. If the Padres or Giants bid 10/300, he would consider it. Close to home. Close to Spring Training. Friendly fans. Better Media.
Sure is a suspicious number of new commentors on this thread…..
Russian agents of Scott Boras.
This kind of reminds me of the phillies signing ryan howard to a long term contract. He stabilized the middle of the order for several years but by the end age and injuries took their toll. Harper is worth big money early on but the length of the contract is daunting.
breckd – great minds?
That’s exactly the situation I think about when I think of Harper. It has a good chance of becoming Ryan Howard redux.
When Howard signed that extension with the Phillies in April of 2010 he was already 30 years old. Harper is 26. Apples and Oranges.
and they signed howard to the extension 2 years before he hit free agency, and should have known there would be a decline….which of course was intensified by his achillies tear.
assume the phils would be front loading this pretty good in part due to their current cash situation, likely an opt out or two…and maybe less in those last couple years than the 25 they were playing harper., and luxury tax threshold will be higher than most likely so not as much of a killer as Howards years were.
xabial you all can have him. I still do not want him but Klentak is an idiot and probably will give him 325M. Too high risk for my liking. The only benefit is to keep the GNats from getting him.
Word is/was that the FO wanted Manny but Middleton and other owners want Harper. Last year Middleton said he would not deal with agents….saying something like “that’s why a pay my GM a lot of money”.
A few months after that Boras and Middleton became cozy….that’s the Boras way. By pass the FO whenever possible and play to the owners ego….it seems to be working
Is Middleton really as much of a fool as some of the other owners?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I hope not but they lost out on Manny even though the FO was supposedly aggressive but ownership wants Bryce for marketing value (which doesn’t help the team on the field now).
Harper is too inconsistent…I don’t trust his 10+ year production.
As I said to another poster who kept saying “but Harper is in the top 40 WAR etc.. all time of players through the age 25 season”….that’s all good and fine but how many of those other players had one season that was more than 3 times better than the average of all other seasons. His average for 6 seasons is 2.9 bWAR and one 10 bWAR season. He never answered.
Nailed it.
nonadhominem – We’ll find out, won’t we. I hope is they walk away and then try to go after some pitching. They are not a terrible team now, but they need some arms.
Cat Mando – None of that would surprise me. I have said for a year I did not want Harper and I still don’t
if you think Klentak is the decider here, you havent been paying attention..
what is your reason you dont want him, and your ultimate concern about the money?
My ultimate concern is the contract not being worth it. IMO th emoney can be better spent elsewhere, and not just this offseason.
I have a feeling a dark horse will land Harper. Right now I could see a winning team like the Astros swooping in and landing him. I have a feeling my Braves are still kicking it around too (hopefully I’m wrong).
That’s what I see happening too. Jeff Luhnow will swoop in like the sly fox he is and Harper will be an Astro. Harper has frequently talked about how he’d love to live in Texas. And he’d avoid state income taxes for his home games.
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Yes – we agree. I wouldn’t mind the Phillies signing Harper for a lot less money, but if they do sign him for what he wants, IMO it really will be money spent by stupid people, not stupid money.
Oh if the Nats are out and that price drops to even $200M, I would change my tune a little but I never saw him as a the top player. He is a good player, but there are at least 5 more people I would want on my team before him and oddly enough Machado is one. But I was not keen on him playing in Philly either and I am fine with the way that unfolded.
I’m gonna say padres do 11 years 330 million at the last second. Then just need to find a good mentor top of the rotation pitcher. Could they afford Greinke after that? Maybe they swing a deal for madbum?
At this point I hope he goes to the Pads.
I’d prefer the Phillies spend the 30+MM by spreading it around more. I believe they will get more value.
I’d add some pitching depth – maybe Gio or Keuchel, take a flyer on Buchholz, Madson if willing, Marwin Gonzo, and some other things to build some depth.
If they did those things with that 30+MM I suspect they’d get more value than putting in “all in” on Harper.
Also, there will be pieces available at the deadline that he cash could be used on.
You are correct nonad – but this is also about marketing. Harper will be a much bigger draw than a combination of any of the players you mention. Of course winning would be the only way to keep the butts in the seats, but they’d make adjustments over time. I think the Phillies will consider the off season a pretty big failure, especially from a marketing standpoint, if they don’t get Harper. I suspect they will, but we’ll see.
Tipsy McStagger – I agree but in my experience if the Phillies are as good as they could be, the fans will come with or without Harper. From a business standpoint would be help? Oh my yes and we agree 100%. But in a Phillies, Yankees, Sox, and Cubs market – when the teams are decent the fans will come out. Not like the Braves in Turner Field in 2011 during the playoffs when the stadium STILL did not sell out. Sorry, I digress. Harper is a great business decision. He would sell merchandise. But I disagree that this off season is a failure without Harper. They made a lot of moves to get better. Hoskins back to 1B probably gave them a few wins since I believe his offense struggled as a result. They got Realmuto. They got better. It was a success on paper. I guarantee that had Middleton not made stupid money comments, there would be no pressure. Even so, 100 free agents left, they can get lightening in a bottle somewhere.
Thumbs up 🙂
Tipsy – the Ryan Howard contract was about marketing and the Phillies’ attendance and viewership plummeted during that contract.
The ultimate marketing is winning, especially the WS – and having harper won’t guarantee the latter.
I said above – the Phillies walked away from a better player for less money.
They should be consistent and do the same thing with Harper.
Nonadhominem — Do you honestly think Harper is going to turn into a Ryan Howard type contract? Harper was the God of baseball since he was 17 (I AM exaggerating, but doing so to make a point). He will market better than Howard and will not fade so quickly.
Do I think it wiser from a winning perspective to walk away from Harper and go after other needs? Yes. Do I think the Phils offseason has been a failure, no matter what the outcome? No. BUT, upper management and many of the fans will think the offseason has been a failure if they don’t get Harper.
P.S. I originally was calling you “Nonad” for short but realized that would probably be taken as an insult. I have since adjusted to the full name.
I agree Phillies Phan. And I will take your word on the Phillies fans filling the seats. And the hype of signing things did not help measures one bit. For much of the fan base and management, there is now pressure to spend stupid money and reel in the big fish. Anything less than that is going to have major ripples, regardless of whether fans come to the games. If the Phils consistently win this year, things will mostly be forgotten. But if they disappoint, the fans may show up, but they may not be happy fans.
Tipsy (btw I love your handle), Harper, a player with a greater injury history than Ryan Howard at the time Howard signed his extension, is one injury away from having a contract like that wind up like Howard’s.
So, yes, the possibility and risk are there.
Explain to me how Howard impeded the Phillies signing other key free agents? Didn’t the Phillies own the NL East during the Howard era? Didn’t they appear in back to back World Series? Didn’t they win one of them?
I agree that the Howard contract was bad, but I’ll sign up for that kind of bad any time.
Spread it around on whom? Keuchel at $20+ million for 5 years. Kimbrel? That is all that is left of impact players.
If the Padres sign Harper, it is too much money for 4 players on their roster. They don’t want to take on Greinke’s contract and give up 2 top prospects for him. The Giants are not rebuilding, Bumgarner is not for trade.
I’m a Pirates fan and I would rather see him stay with the nationals. He is going to have himself and his children and their children and so on set for life, just stay in D.C. Become a hero you hear about in only Folklore. Otherwise, your just another ballplayer.
For the Giants it is a business decision as much as it is it is helping their team. Fans like homeruns and he is a player they can market.
Clearly they don’t agree with Matt Swartz’ $/War article. blogs.fangraphs.com/the-recent-history-of-free-age…
Is Bryce Harper a 5-tool player worthy of a 350M contract?
Hit for Average? 2 of 7 years. Hit for Power? 2 of 7 years (above 30 HR). Baserunning/Speed? Yes. Throwing Ability? Yes. Fielding Ability? Not so much.
Some year’s he is a Top-15 MLB player, most years he’s a Top-50 player. He is the best FA left on the market.
I can just see why they are having a difficult time coming up to whatever Boras’ fake offers are.
In 2 of the past 4 seasons his OPS was over 1.000. That is elite.
take away IBB’s and BB’s and what is it?
I get it, still counts, but you don’t pay $30m+ for walks.
You also got to think, he was getting pitched around a lot.. could you imagine him batting between acuna and freeman? your not going to pitch around him to get to either of those players..
I really think you people who say “we don’t want him” are just preparing for not getting him. I am a Cubs fan and would kill to add him to the Cubs, but it is not going to happen. Pull out all the .249 comments, because they are people who just do not get it. He is a generational talent who has put up generational numbers. 184 homers and over 500 RBI before his age 26 season. Happ is going to be worth what he ends up getting and then some and it will be the biggest contract in total dollars and AAV. Where will he go? I think the Braves sneak in and grab him at something like 10/341 and they will be happy they did it, but I really have no idea where he ends up
Harp, not Happ
Robert….”I really think you people who say “we don’t want him” are just preparing for not getting him.”
There may be some like that but I can guarantee you you won’t find a post of mine that says I want Harper on the Phillies. I have always preferred Machado of the two and I wish the Phillies would walk away from Harper now. He is not worth $300m+
The closest to saying Harper to the Phillies I ever came was a contract proposal for either Harper or Machado and later I posted it as just Manny.
Harper is too inconsistent, and as a WaPo writer pointed out he “can’t go 10 days without failing to run out a groundball or overthrowing a cutoff man by 15 feet or throwing to the wrong base or being caught unprepared in the outfield or on the bases”
Don’t want him.
Cat Mando/Robert – Not me either. I seriously do not want him. I think they will sign him because Klentak will try to save himself; but I honestly say, on a stack of Bibles, “I do not want him.” Machado signs, I would have tolerated. Cat Mando said what I think too.
I believe you and “nonad”
No, we really don’t want him at the price.
I am on record here as preferring Machado, and wanting him, because he really is the better player.
Trust me… I am totally prepared for the “disappointment” of not signing Harper.
nonadhominem – this will sound mean but I will be more disappointed if they sign him. 2008-2009 off season was 10 seasons ago. That is how long a 10 year contract is. Let him sign with DC
I’m curious what Harper wants since supposedly the Padres made him a higher offer than Machado. If true he had his chance for the west coast but seems he might just value money most. If that’s the case he might just be trying to squeeze Philadelphia for a record contract.
He wants the Dodgers
Prediction: Phillies 11/330 in the next 48/72 hours
Love to see 10 and 310 from the Padres. Dodgers would freak out.
Harper would be a Yankee already if Stanton wasn’t on the roster. Many fans, including myself, want him on the team but it’ll be nigh impossible convincing Hal to push the highest luxury tax bracket. Way I see it though, we’re already over so might as well dive into the deepest spot in the pool. Get the best and see to it that you are the best
PinstripedPride – I agree with you on every point and I wish he would be a Yankee, to be honest.
Just curious – are you saying you’d rather have Harper for more money over Stanton for less?
Isn’t NYY under the luxury tax? Even if they cranked up their payroll to $250 million this year, they’d face a $13 million penalty. That amount wouldn’t prevent me from trying to get Harper. Of course, it ain’t my money.
Your team didn’t get knocked out of the playoffs because they couldn’t hit. Way I see it, they would have lost last year with harper. Pitching lost it for them, we will see if they got enough this offseason or if they have to go get more later.
Harper put in his time, he’s a free agent and he can sign with whom he wants for whatever reason, money geography, etc. I don’t know his preference other than I really think he wanted to go to the LAD and they….. I think LAD screwed up because I think he’d have signed there and for less than Stanon’s deal but north of $300M
I say screwed up because a peek at roster resource and the 2019 LAD aren’t as good as the 2018 team which wasn’t as good as the 2017 team. Where’s the rotation depth, the bullpen fix, where’s Reamulto? Isn’t Pollock for Puig a push? THAT team is more concerned with farm system rankings than winning a WS ring, wasting the prime years of a generational talent in Kershaw in the process. He’s now definitely past peek, when’s the last season he had a clean health year?
Harper to SF not to mention Machado to SD certainly changes the dynamic of the NL West. SD should be in on Ervin Santana as an upside arm whose past injury was a finger vs elbow or shoulder.
Philadelphia has done a good job so far adding Cutch, Segura, Reamulto to Hoskins, Hernandez, Herrera, if they pivot and go Kimbrall & Kuechel for a combined $100M+ isn’t that a better fit to their roster than Harper?
All speculation and whatever deal Harper signs he’s certain to opt out as soon as 3 years more likely in 4 years and lots of front loaded $$$ in front of a maybe strike.
Too long.
Not everyone’s thoughts will fit on a Post It note.
And on this season’s edition of “Kenny Always Gets His Guy,” welcome to the White Sox, Adam Jones.
Deals for expensive FA’s like Harper and Machado always fall upon the approval of ownership. Jerry Reinsdorf had his limit with Machado regarding guaranteed dollars and no opt-out so he took the Padres offer instead. In the fallout, JR nixed any further discussions with Harper despite the fact he actually makes more sense for the White Sox batting order and marketing department than Machado ever did.
The thing that is particularly disturbing is that the still rebuilding White Sox specifically targeted these two FA’s because of their young age and future potential. It was widely expected that each would garner contracts in the 10 yrs./$300MM+ range. Nobody really expected the White Sox to prevail in signing either because of their current rebuilding status and the notion that more big market contenders would be involved in the sweepstakes. Much to theirs and everybody elses surprise, expected glamor franchises like the Yankees, Dodgers and Cubs never materialized as serious suitors for either FA. This left the White Sox as a favorite along with the Phillies to land one of them. But alas, the Padres entered the poker game late, went all-in and won the Machado pot. The White Sox then proceeded to fold on Harper.
All this begs the question: Why did the White Sox even bother playing if they weren’t willing to bring enough chips to the table in the first place? They knew they were a long shot at the outset and must have figured they would have to overpay in a normal market. Circumstances became more favorable with fewer than expected players and ultimately they still weren’t willing to pony up.
The only thing more fitting for Reinsdorf would be for another “mystery team” to emerge and sign Harper like the Padres did with Machado. If that team happened to be from the AL Central, particularly the Indians or Twins, JR would never hear the end of it from his already disgusted fan base. Nobody expects such a development but it would be a well deserved twist of fate for the owner and a cruel one for their fans.
I’m happy for the Padre fans that they have Manny for at least the next 5 years. I wish my Angels would have signed him. A premium infeilder like him at his age doesn’t come around that often. Instead Arte went for Pujols and Hamilton and other broken down past their prime super stars.
Luckily we have Trout. And we can build around him. I just want to say to The Padre fans, I know you’re excited getting Manny. But he’s human and usually in the first year of a huge contract players try to justify it in every at bat. I’ve seen it with The Angels over and over. Back in 1977 when The Angels signed the trio of Baylor, Grich and Rudi. The LA media had the Angels in the WS. Hopefully your prospects pan out. Hopefully Meyers starts playing up to his contract. I think Hosmer will have a better year now that he’s seen 1 year of NL pitching Have fun Padre fans but don’t expect too much this year.
Build around? He’s free agent in couple of years
It’s fun to see stars move but it’s a shame franchise players rarely stay with the teams they came up with.
Harper’s gonna pull a Laveon Bell.
Basically, Boras is dragging things out trying to get the Phillies to bid against themselves.
Trying to turn that “stupid” money into “braindead” money.
The numbers don’t lie… Stanton > Harper
Take Stanton’s best 3 seasons against Harper’s best 3 and it is no comparison.
As a slugger… Stanton > Harper
From a marketing standpoint… Harper > Stanton (no one buys Stanton jerseys in NY)
2019 may be a breakout year for Giancarlo. He just needs to make more contact. The ball explodes off his bat. Strikeouts are the most unproductive outs. Judge will overshadow him to his benefit.
The most unproductive outs are GIDPs. Or, I suppose, triple plays, but those are really rare.
I think Stanton has already had a breakout year lol.
Another large contact that teams will regret! It’s like the stupid dog that won’t listen!!
Cashman certainly doesn’t
Adam Jones to the White Sox as a placeholder that will help bridge the gap to their young, talented, outfield prospects?
Admittedly in decline offensively and defensively, he would make a great addition as a mentor to the younger members of the team.
The White Sox are fond of mentors.
Last season James Shields mentored the young White Sox starting pitchers who ranked near the bottom in most every important category including leading all of MLB in walks.
Jose Abreu helped mentor the young hitters who collectively struck out more times than any other team in MLB history. His prime apprentice was fellow Cuban Yoan Moncada who led all of MLB in SO’s with 217.
It would be fitting that declining defensive OF Adam Jones would be on board in 2019 to help mentor abysmal corners like Daniel Palka and Nicky Delmonico. Like Abreu with Moncada, Jones would likely take uber prospect Eloy Jimenez under his wing who we all know (cough, cough) didn’t earn his MLB promotion last year because he still needed to work on his defense. Can’t hardly wait to see the impact Jones might have on Jimenez’ defense in 2019.
This is just getting BORING! Harper is going to Philly barring a surprise suitor sweeping in. In my opinion, Boras is using San Fran as leverage to raise the AAV, but Philly knows after Machado took home $300 mil there’s no way Harper accepts even a 5/$250 contract.
11 years $330 mil to the Phillies with an opt out after the 5th season is my prediction. Sets max value record but not max AAV. Yanks, Nats, Padres, White Sox are all out. Who has $300+ mil in payroll space that’s going to swoop in and change this? I think the Giants are crazy if they do a long term deal considering they can’t figure out whether they are buying or selling or rebuilding or anything. They are really praying for the wild card if they get Harper.
I definitely agree with you on that contract I would maybe add a team option at year 7 or 8, but the money is there for sure
I can understand why Machado and Harper would take the biggest deal possible: honestly who wouldn’t?
Give me $50 Million and my Grandchildren wouldn’t have to work a day in their lives let alone $300-$350. Granted they are Pampered and overpaid compared to the rest of our society but they’re still people underneath it all.
I suspect these two guys may be the last to ever hit Free Agency in a Market that will generate the lengthy number of years available past age 33.
The next CBA seems likely to produce some version of restricted Free Agency a la the other Major Professional Leagues.
I don’t consider myself a pro-Owners sympathizer but I can’t imagine any scenario where Owners will continue to abide paying the future A-Rod and Pujols of the league massive money for their decline. I don’t blame them one bit either.
To my way of thinking the best method to address the inequities is Restricted Free Agency after 3 years. The money will flow to the players actually putting up the numbers, or at least, significantly more of it will.
I’d also be inclined to get rid of the Luxury Tax as I believe it simply doesn’t work as originally intended. In actual practice it gives teams a reason not to spend.
The market is insane right now. All these costs get past on to us, the fans.
There has to be a point in which owners and the league say “Um, this is clearly getting out of hand.”
Fact of the matter is, no human being is worth $50 million dollars per year. It’s beyond comprehension.
Actually, if they get paid that… They’re worth it by definition.
As to a tipping point… It happens when they start losing money and not a second sooner. I remember going to a Phillies game in 90 as an 8 year old and couldn’t believe how expensive it was to park and get a soda inside. That’s 29 years ago and it hasn’t changed yet. It will be passed onto us until we stop buying it (or actually not buying cable packages anymore)… Next tv/streaming contract will be interesting down the line)
When viewed purely as a business it stands to reason that there are individuals worth that type of money in terms of profit.
I agree with you 100% in humanistic/societal/equitable terms that no human being is worth that much compensation.
Certainly I’d place Doctors, Policemen, First Responders, Lawyers, Teachers (just off the top of my head) far above professional athletes or entertainers.
In actual practice it is irrefutable that our society (most likely the vast majority of the human race) does not agree with my perspective.
I hear ya. I’m a teacher and constantly get crap about salary (I make less now than in 2009). Masters in math, masters in special education, 15 years experience and constantly have to defend what I do to people.
I understand your perspective, but this has nothing to do with humanistic or societal or any of that. It’s a market situation, plain and simple………..and yes, there are people worth that much compensation in markets. That’s why they receive it. No other reason. I mean, why else would they receive that kind of money? Markets aren’t charities. Now, when it comes to Harper, I don’t happen to think that he is one of those people, but then again, I don’t like him, his persona, his dad, or his swing, which is very complicated and I feel subjects him to being one of those guys who disappears at an early age. I don’t own a baseball team, though, so what I think doesn’t matter.
You’re missing the fact that owners are pulling in more money than ever before. We’re talking billions. So the owners should rightfully pay more for their talent.
I agree that there’s far too much money in sports, but it goes beyond the athletes.
They don’t take in billions a year. You are equating franchise value with profits, you mong
VPH, WHY should owners “rightfully” pay more?
You use the word “rightfully” as though it is some kind of moral issue. It is not. Tthe minute you start to view it that way you lose objectivity.
It is a business transaction between two groups who sit at a table and bargain with each other. No one forced the players to agree to the current CBA. No one forced the owners either.
The owners are not immoral because the MLBPA failed to see the impact that increased emphasis on analytics would have on front offices. That is NOT a failure of the owners. It’s a failure of the MLBPA and their advisers.
Owners (FOs) are merely acting in their own self interest. There is nothing immoral about people doing that as long as it does not hurt anyone else. That said, it all comes down to the definition of “hurt”, doesn’t it?
Does it “hurt” MLB players to pay them an average salary of over 3MM pers season? Most people would say “no”. That is probably why there are many people on this site who agree with ownership. (Most of us won’t make that amount of money in our entire lives.)
So what is the argument/disagreement about?
It’s about dividing up the spoils.
Is that really a moral dilemma with which the little people like you and me should struggle? If so, why? Why should we agree with the players or the owners? What difference does it really make to us?
Personally, I don’t care how much the owners make, and don’t care how much the players make. I just want to see my team play good baseball and win.
If the owner of the team for which I root, John Middleton, can do that on a $90MM budget, or he has to spend $190MM to do it…. I don’t care.
And you really shouldn’t either.
You should care whether your team wins, not matter what the cost – high or low.
In short – morality has nothing to do with it – it’s just two groups of greedy people negotiating every so often as to how they are going to divide up the spoils.
What’s a mong? And if the franchise is increading in value than the top players in said franchise should get a raise as well.
I have two Facebook posts ready to fire
1. Phils finally got the guy to put them into contention… Its not my money so who cares. His numbers will be eye popping in cbp
2. Thank God they didn’t sign him… That contract is going to ruin the( insert team). Would rather have 2 guys, maybe an sp and closer instead.
My uneducated opinion… He doesn’t want to be in Philly. Wants the west coast but I suspect Philly gives the years while the west offering higher aav and shorter term.
As Opening Day draws near, the leverage that Boras and Harper have dwindles. The prime time to pull the trigger on a deal favorable to Harper would be right now, in the immediate wake of Machado’s contract with San Diego.
It’s obvious something is wrong with the rumoured/imagined/would-be Philly deal. If there were any closeness in an agreement, it would have been sealed by now. Is it money? Years? Philadelphia itself? Who knows? There may not even be one. But the falloff from this point will be worse for Harper as Spring Training has now started in earnest.
It’s possible someone is out there — Houston, the Yanks — waiting for his leverage to drop, and to enter with a smaller, shorter deal. Even the Nationals can be a part of this, though I think they have moved on. The dark horse is not dead yet.
Is it possible that he already has the deal that he’s willing to sign in hand but is waiting? An attempt to show union solidarity perhaps? Could it be a display of unhappiness with the current market? Does he see himself as a rebel on some level?
Nah, probably just trying to maximize dollars…
He’s in goof land turning down 300 mil from Nats.
Why go play Nats now down road 19 times a year as a Phillie. Bad judgement
It seems likely (obviously) that Boras was trying to see who the highest bidder was besides the Nationals when this whole process began. As soon as Team ________ offered $___mil he could go back to the Nationals and say beat this number. He’s giving the Nats the last chance, which is all they could ask, and the final opportunity to bring Harper “home”. We might not be waiting for Harper and Boras, we might be waiting for another team to give Boras the final yes/no answer if they’ll beat the number.
There won’t be a shorter deal. He’ll get something like 10/325 for sure. Is he worth that? Only time will tell. I’d say if the Phils win a World Series in the next 5 years (and Harper is a big reason why), that they would consider it a good investment. Same for the Pads and Machado.
Those of you hating on the Padres…just know this. Whatever these players are paid will be MORE than made up, with what fans will spend on tickets and merchandise. TV revenues will increase as well. So this is smart business, not dumb business. But the casual fan doesn’t see it that way, when it comes to the Padres.
About a .0001% chance the Padres land Harper. It simply doesn’t make sense for their current roster. They really would need to unload Myers contract to even consider it. I highly doubt Harper is going to wait for a Myers trade to be completed before he decides where to sign. I’m not necessarily against a Harper deal. It’s just not realistic at this point.
^ trade proposal for teams like the Mets/Indians with pitching the Padres need, and a need in the OF:
Myers, Renfroe, Michael Baez, Quantrill (maybe another throw in prospect of cash) for Syndegaard
Or- Myers, Renfroe, Baez for Bauer
My opinion…. it’s not a terrible trade for either side. The Indians trade might be a little more even for both sides. Mets might get more than I listed for Noah if it wasn’t for injuries….
So what are the Friday rumors?
This is probably for the best as I don’t think the Chi-Sox are structured to maintain a $209M payroll for a window of contention like the Cubs. They need to be smarter & m0re frugal like the Brewers.
What the Cubs have shown is how quickly that window can shrink when your FA moves are mostly busts. The Cubs are not alone there. Player representatives for the union that continue to talk about striking seem to be forgetting about the multitude of FA busts this decade.
Sign Already
TV 10 in Philly is reporting that John Middleton’s plane is on the ground in Las Vegas..
Now, MLB is reporting the same thing
From a business point of view – Harper is not going to be worth the money, IMHO..
With the escalating players salaries in today’s MLB. How much would had cost the Cincinnati Reds to maintain a roster of , Pete Rose, Johnny Bench , Tony Perez, Dave Concepcion, Cesar Geronimo and George Foster?
I forgot Joe Morgan