The slow drip of news regarding Bryce Harper (and fellow free agent star Manny Machado) has formed a tower of uncertainty that looms over the hot stove market — indeed, the game as a whole. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess when, where, and for how much Harper will sign. As curious as the still-ongoing free agency of these players is the dearth of developments hitting the news wire and the evident lack of widespread interest.
Under these circumstances, it’s reasonably notable to learn that “at least 8 teams are still checking in on Harper,” according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). While Heyman suggests that some of those clubs do not have much interest in a long-term arrangement, it stands to reason that Harper and agent Scott Boras would welcome any bidders to help boost their bargaining power.
Despite a limited cast of publicly known suitors, it has always seemed logical that additional teams would look into a Harper deal. With at least one mystery team chasing Machado, we’ve already seen that concept introduced, but it hasn’t been as evident in Harper’s case.
So, what teams might be in the picture that weren’t previously known? That’s hard to say. The Padres have entered the mix, joining the Phillies, White Sox, and Nationals as known suitors. Beyond that, though, there’s no real indication. Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets, in fact, that he has had no success at identifying dark horse participants in the Harper derby.
You’re free to speculate in the comments, of course, but the fact is that any number of organizations could at least be kicking around the edges of Harper’s market. With as many as four mystery clubs evidently involved to some degree, it’s all but impossible to assess the lay of the land — let alone to foresee just how Harper’s time on the open market will ultimately draw to a close.
Update: there are no new developments
When are these players going to realize that with the increasing penalty for going over the luxury tax that less teams want to continue to do that. Also with the examples of failed long term expensive deals, no team wants to take that chance. These two factors are driving teams not to participate. If there is changes to the market such as two reasons I named that players must adjust too!!!
That glare being shone constantly by mother media maybe blinds us a bit. Harpers year to year is more a la Barry Sanders type dough. Could be we fooled our selves hyping Harper. He bats well not so often. We are all just waiting for him. He hasn’t really lived up to his hype. One monster year! We want him to be Mickey or Hank. Maybe he is. Maybe he isn’t so far. Sure the players deserve all they can get. Man i would not want to gamble with real money on Harper. Also If i was inviting, as owner, little leagers over to the club house, i don’t know if i would be proud of My loud mouth non shey lant 30 plus hundred thousands a frick’n year precoious goofball. I might be able to buy multiful solid guys. Not Willie or Hank. Solid though. Not dreams or hypes, or those wishes for greatness. Just sayin’. LOL Gawd i love this game!
Just saying Mickey wasn’t Mickey and Hank was no Hank at age 26, but that’s what they became. Harper is a generational talent, and every team would love to have them.
What?
One MVP, and 6 all star appearances..I’d say he has lived up to his hype…25 years old..
Mickey Mantle batted .365/.512/.665 with 34 homers and 94 RBI in his age 25 season.
Hank Aaron batted .355/.401/.636 with 39 homers and 123 in his age 25 season.
So they actually were Mickey and Hank at age 26.
All star voting is a fan fest. it’s not voted by peers or based on who is better. Let’s not count things like that, but I get why you did, bc it’s one of the few things that helps justify your side.
Harper has potential to be a generational talent. But right now, he’s not delivered on that.
Its a matter of allocating limited assets. Is my team better off with one 30+ Million player, or 3= 10MM players. Depth is more important in todays game.
Harper is one of 21 players in history with 25+ WAR, 150 HR, and a 130 OPS+ through his age 25 season.
3/4 of them are in the HoF – 3 others are still playing (Trout, Stanton, and Machado)
Yes, there is a risk in signing anyone to a long-term deal – maybe he is like the 2 players on this list who totally flopped (Andruw Jones and Canseco).
But this concept that 10 year deals don’t work out is nonsense. A-Rod’s first one, Jeter’s – looks like Cano and Votto will – that’s already 50% of them in history – too soon to tell on Stanton. The 2 people point to are Pujols and A-Rod’s 2nd one – of course they weren’t going to work out when they were older than 30. Even the Tulowitski one was not that awful even with all his injuries.
I think Harper (or Machado for that matter) are worth the gamble.
Says you, others say maybe not. i tend to agree with you on Machado not so much on Harper-
Most long term deals look bad because the player doesn’t deliver during the entire contract. A-Rod won a WS and played very well for half his contract.
Cecildawg, that was very painful to read and made little sense. I now have a headache from what you wrote.
Uh, Mickey was Mickey and Hank definitely was Hank when they were pushing 26-27. A bit of revisionist history, my friend?
Dear BunselPower.
Harper batted
.330/.460/.649
With 42HRs and 99RBI’s
In his age 22 season, so… Push?
What? You know not whereof you speak. Mantle had 60 rWAR after his age 26 season. Aaron had 47.
The biggest difference is that Aaron and Mantle were great EVERY year, not upsy downsy like Harper.
If Mantle and Aaron are the definition of generational talents, then Harper is not the same. Yes, he’s a very good player with one great year, but he doesn’t belong in the same sentence as those two guys.
As a Phils fan I’d love to have either guy, but not on a 10 year deal.
Just to be clear, A-Rod’s first 10-year deal was worth it – the 2nd one was signed when he was 32, which had no chance of being worth it – neither Harper or Machado are 32…
I agree 100%
Nice insult to the Mick and Hank. Harper couldn’t hold either’s jock and never will. Generational talent lofl! There are literally two players in MLB right now that I would categorize as generational talents and that’s Trout and Betts and it ends there.
Are you willing to gamble $300Million to find out?
read the stats! it will take30 seconds. Unless someone older has to stear you to their sites. Mickey and hank where double harper at 26. Check this out, dude. This brocrush on harper is silly. i mean like you who wanna but man up to reality. harper is barry sanders, tad wink better. Dreams are not what is. dreams are what we want to be what is. Just math junior.
YES they were!
how was andruw jones a flop?
bush1, get your facts straight: You have a headache from what you read, not what he wrote. You can’t blame him for YOUR choice.
lol
I’m just gonna say it…. I don’t think Mickey, Hank, or Babe would be nearly as good in today’s game the way it is played. I think stats from the early days, though very impressive, are not a fair comparison to today’s game, with advanced scouting, training, the slider, and specialized bullpens.
Those guys were incredibly good, but there is a zero chance their stats would be close to those now. That is also why we will never see another .400 hitter in baseball.
The benchmark for the hall of fame is about 60 WAR. Micky had that by the end of his 26 age season.
Mantle was massive. He hit it further than anyone, and he ran faster than anyone. Mantle’s talent would play in any era. SMH.
@bbarker17 I never said Mantle wasn’t good. Obviously he was amazing. I just said his numbers wouldn’t quite be the same if he played today. Even Trout in these days is a .307 hitter, and he is phenomenal. He definitely would not hit anywhere near .350, and that would effect other stats as well.
It’d be interesting to see some of those guys today either way.
Mantle had already won two MVPs. Aaron was widely regarded as the second best player (to Mays) .in the NL. In other words,, both were holy terrors by age 26.
@Mr. Ray’s Hairweave I get all of the accolades and all of that…. that’s fine. I’m more just saying their numbers wouldn’t nearly be the same today. What someone like Trout is doing now is more impressive to me than those guys hitting .350 or so with those numbers. I think the game is much harder overall now.
Plus, Mantle had negative worth defensively in the field. He had power, so maybe his power numbers hold up, but I bet his other numbers would come down.
To wit: Dirk Nowitzki is an NBA All Star in 2019…
And neither Harper or Machado are as accomplished as was ARod.
What was that Mr Boras
Mantle had poor conditioning, and his body broke down in his early thirties. With modern training rooms, he might have been even better, particularly in his later years.
But that’s not necessarily the player’s problem. You set your worth and you get it or adjust downward to you don’t. It’s not his problem if a team goes over the threshold to get him.
I am not even sure its the luxury tax- I really believe these teams n o longer want to lock any play up for more than 5 years. Too many longer term contracts have failed miserably in the last 2-3 years of the deals. The luxury tax can be played around.
If memory serves Harper refused a 10 year 300 mil on day 1 from the Nats.. Why would any team entertain any thoughts of signing him unless they plan on going over that. As you stated above there are good reasons not too.
Why pay more? The owners can hold out and pay low because Harper will either take the money and play or take no money and not play. Owners take a larger percent of profits and players get the smaller cut. I, for one, don’t go to games to see the owners.
I like this quote.
“We can replace the owners.
The taxpayers pay to build most of the ballparks. TV, local and national, and streaming (MLB.tv) provides most of the revenue. The fans provide the rest.
Because of the limited number of teams ownership groups, yes all of them are groups, are guaranteed huge rates of return on their investment via huge increases in the value of a team.
Most teams more than double in value every decade regardless of the ownership.
Look at the Marlins. Jeff Loria bought the team for $158 million, got a new stadium at taxpayer expense, milked the team for hundreds of millions in profits, and then sold the team for $1.2 billion just 15 years later.
Look at the Padres, John Moores led a group that bought the team for $80 million in 1994. The team sold for $800 million in 2012. 18 years later they received a tenfold ROI.
Doesn’t take much to find someone willing to make an investment in a baseball team.
What can’t be replaced is the skillset of the 750-900 men that play in the major leagues every year. We want to watch immensely talented men play baseball at a level no one else in the world can. 7 billion people. Less than 1000 with that level of conditioning and skills.
Without them, there is no game for the owners to sell to you and I. Fans won’t pay a premium to watch 2nd rate baseball.
If the players are not receiving at a minimum 1/2 of the revenue that their preternatural abilities make possible, then they are being robbed.”
MLBTR, please stop guessing. I’ll bet a lot more teams “looked in” on those two. That doesn’t mean anything or makes any of those teams “dark horses”.
This is another meh article. We know teams have smartened up.
You can thank analytics among some lesser reasons for that.
By the way, the sky is blue.
They’re reporting what Heyman and Bowden are reporting. AKA two of the biggest name reporters in baseball. I don’t understand why people get mad at a rumor site for posting rumors. If you’re looking for only posts about players actually being signed or traded then go look at a transactions page.
people get mad because they write articles with no new content. It’s the same old thing with no new info every 3 days
I just appreciate having something to read.
+1
This is kind of a reason why I moved towards twitter. I get the same information well before this site outside of the Atlantic thing and chances are higher they will answer my question on twitter then here
That’s why it’s rumors. It’s an update on the rumor, even if the update is “nothing new”.
The sky is blue, and water is wet.
Media glare blinds some of us to the truth.
And some people are called concrete head!
Hey if you don’t like what they are reporting then delete the app! Geez no one is telling you to read the damn thing! Get a life dude!
If you don’t like what he has to say, don’t read his comment. Geez no one is telling you to read the damn comment! Get a like dude
*life
Oh yes there is!The Price is going down and more Teams are getting involved,it’s been obvious to me since the beginning he wants to go west that is why he turned down the Nats and more recently the Phils & White Sox.
Exactly
Comment: Nothing to add
I’d say he has to fight McGregor and play running back for the 9ers, for all the money he wants.
Way too much money for this kid to play stick ball…
Lol
Harper to the Phils – 8/272
Machado to the White Sox – 8/240
You heard it here first, folks! On Fake Rumors News Net!
Anything could happen, but I think that both Harper and Machado aren’t really interested in joining those teams. Instead, I think they tried to use those teams to drum up more interest and drive up the price. The irony is that the way things are going they might be stuck with those teams.
Of course that’s why they’re doing it. An old Boras trick.
Boras is having a fit right now- Neither the Redsox, Dodgers, Yankees, Mets or cubs are interested in his stud player- Driving his price/term way down.
Exactly right. If they wanted to play for those teams they’d have signed weeks ago.
I don’t think so. They are still waiting for the offer they want. Remember Harper turned down 300 mil for the nationals thinking another team would offer more, no one has come close. They are holding out until the price is right.
With the big spending teams seemingly disinterested in Harper , Boras misplayed his hand. to save face he would rather Harper held out a year and cry collusion for a year.
But teams arent waiting to spend their money. what to do once the money is spent?
I don’t think he turned it down because he wanted more…IMO he just wanted to get out of DC. Why would anyone want to live in Philly, Chicago, or DC…All horrible places with horribly sour people with miserable weather.
The price is right is a game show. Contracts over multiple years for talent that is erradic (harper) will wind up being real. maybe 3/4 yrs. Less than 30 million (!) a year.. Mien gott. The joke is on those with blinders.
They really do not warrant a multiple year gig. Three years. OK four. That one guy might be a scary loon. Sure teamates says nice things. The guy seems off his trolly at times. Those eyes! You want him datting you daughter. You would not gooph her life up for season tickets. That might be painful looking into pain. Looking into lost respect. Dang how my mind starts unravaling. Fun stuff!
I think the market has turned on the players , they will see less and less long term contracts. They can whine all they want even foolishly strike over this but long term contracts need to be removed.. they have crippled too many teams in the latter years.
It’s being openly stated (as per Heyman) that Machado doesn’t like the current offers and is hoping that the Yankees will jump in at last. The Bronx is where he truly wants to be and maybe, just maybe it’ll happen when he realizes that the market won’t give him what he wants. As for Harper, he’ll go where he feels he has the best marketability and highest money offer. I’m betting that will be Philadelphia in the end, if Middleton truly does spend that elusive “stupid money”
I dont see the yankees as interested in machado. They said they were concerned with his charlie hustle comment, met with him early in offseason then nothing. George doesnt run that team anymore. Theyre more concerned with marketability, profit and team now that just acquiring the best possible players at any cost.
Who in this game is willing to acquire anyone “at all costs”? News flash for all those saying the Yankees are being frugal. They just traded for the largest contract given to any professional athlete in the major North American sports history last year. They can sign another guy and it wouldn’t hurt one bit beyond the slight lux tax this year and they have money coming off next year. It’s more about, do they deserve $325 mil? I suggest that even Trout won’t see a 10year deal aside from maybe LA.
This. People forget that trading for Stanton was like signing a big FA – they took on a huge obligation.
Eh, not really. The Marlins paid down about a third of Stanton’s remaining contract, what the Yanks have to pay is much more managable. Plus they were able to dump Castro’s salary too.
The Marlins gave the Yankees $30m when Stanton had $295m left on his deal. Castro had a guaranteed $22m left on his deal. So not even close to a third.
With the yankees not really interested in either big name- their price has dropped. Yankees don’t need either, Redsox, Dodgers, and other big spending teams don’t need them either.
TreyMancini & costanza………..
The Fish ONLY pay $30M to the Yankees if and only if Stanton does not opt out after 2020 otherwise the get nothing. They did not pay down anything.
legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/al…
“acquired by NY Yankees in trade from Miami 12/9/17, with Marlins paying $30M to Yankees if Stanton does not exercise right to opt out of the contract after the 2020 season
Miami to pay $5M cash each 7/1 and 10/1 in 2026, 2027 & 2028
full $30M amount pro-rated over final 10 years of the contract ($3M/year) for purposes of calculating Competitive Balance Tax”
Not only has Machado tipped his hand, but the Yankees already have several hitters already or with the potential to be as good as Machado. The Yankees don’t want Machado nearly as much as he wants them. There’s no reason for them to match anyone else. If he goes to another team then they shrug and say we never really needed him in the first place – let’s get another pitcher or two.
Is the Nationals’ $300m offer to Harper still on the table? I have a hard time imagining him not taking the best offer available.
I dont know, guess only nats would. But id guess at this point prolly not. That offer was months ago and i dunno what moves theyve made but im sure theyve made some. Not to mention theyve seen the lack of interest and that no other team has come near that offer. But still think theyre prolly his best bet at this point
It was rumored recently that the nationals actually increased their offer. Take that with a grain of salt obviously, but it was reported.
Yes, but it was previously reported (also here) that the Nats wouldn’t offer more than $25M per year and were out of the running. Who knows?
That deal came and went the moment the Nats signed Corbin and committed to Robles. That ceiling no longer exists. The only team that might go that high now is Philadelphia. Boras committed a strategic error,
My point here is that the Phillies will pay $34M per year and go to 8 years – not sure if they’re near either of those two figures but they will need to move to them in order to get Harper to say yes.
Same for the White Sox – per reports, they’re currently at 7 years and under $30M per. If they really want him and to get him to say yes, they’ll move up in terms of years and AAV.
why? whose offering more?
Ramensky you spend to much tme staring at your ceiling. Might feel good but that is not what most call real life. Getting a clue!
What?
Harper will sign with the Yankees.
History repeats itself, and Boras contacts the Yankees offering them a discount on the 300M+ his client was offered by Wash
Xabial, I am your biggest fan ( ͡◉ ͜ʖ ͡◉)!!!
Pickle Rick was a great episode
B+
sad you wrote that…you must be a minister and love alterboys
“Boras” and “Will offer a discount” should not be used in the same sentence unironically.
I doubt the Yanks would sign him to a 10+year deal. Moe realistic, 6/$210.
History repeats itself, with or without a guy named Harper they don’t need, and the Yanks again lose to Boston in the playoffs.
you’re sooooo smug. act like you’re used to winning bro.
Used to winning? I’m an O’s fan
Harper will pitch for the Yankees when Paxton, Sabathia, and Tanaka are all out hurt.
Speaking of MLB star players changing positions…
Judge: I’d change positions to make Harper Yankee
exact quotes Hot off the press (February 5 2019)
“Wherever he wants to play, wherever he wants to play—we’ll make it work.”
Source: TMZ Sports’ interview video
syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2819380-yankees…
I want to dislike Judge bc he is a Yankee, but the dude continues to be the exact kind of player I’d want on my team. As for Harper, I think he goes back to WAS on a backloaded deal where he gets paid well into his 40s bc that is how WAS rolls. I would love if he or Manny was exiled to CWS like when Cano went to SEA.
Just take the contract that Washington offered from the get go. That’s probably off the table now that he’s tested a failing market for him. Wtf is wrong with $200 million let alone $300. These players are really stupid sometimes to pass up initial contract offers
They would be stupid to accept those offers, the players deserve every dollar they can get and have short changed themselves for years. Revenues keep growing and their share keeps shrinking. The owners are pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars on these guys backs while denying them their share.
You sound …. dumb
I think the new market is good for baseball. Teams not being stuck with bad contracts so they can buy new players and stay competitive instead of being held down on say a Pujols contract. Angels really could of used that money and maybe been a contender…
Exactly
They are not that good! Harper deserves 3/4 yrs. DC i believe pulled that initial
offer off the table. Harper believes the media hype which alot of us believe. Brocrushes aside he is a regular guy. 3/4 yrs. Man if he was Willie at 26 he would be getting 10 year offers. Harper is not that dream player. The ups and downs someone mentioned. And again what his name is good! he is not what you would be proud of as a realitive.(sic) Or the face of your team for a decade. He comes off ify. Throwing bat at people. His whole body of work as a human is odd! Borderline dangerous.
Sorry man, but no Athlete is worth that kind of money. People work their entire lives and do important jobs and don’t make 10% of what an average baseball player makes. When i see an average or below average baseball player making 50-100 million dollars (and completely forget that players name in 5 years) that kind of salary is way over done. No athlete is worth that kind of money. Their just playing a sport
And no one is paying to watch you do your job in person or on tv, generating billions in revenue. Yet constant moronic posts like this bashing the players, you know the ones who actually make the sport. Yet you prefer the billionaire owners to get more.
So the billionaires deserve all the money then? I agree it’s ridiculous how much they get paid. But I’d rather they get the money than some dudes that are already billionaires.
So the owners should get all the money instead, just for investing in the club and having the players around to make it worth anything and to take responsibility for on field success? Logical.
The average professional baseball player doesn’t make close to $50M. The average pro baseball player doesn’t make it past AA.
Nobody’s paying to see the average worker in which they chose to make a profession…but they still have to generate solid production every week worthy enough to keep his job…otherwise they lose their job.
The athlete (who also chose his profession) making the gauranteed multi millions does not…so you’ll never get every working class man/woman to truly appreciate what you’re arguing.
It’s not that people who can’t relate to the players pleas for more money want the owners to get richer…because they are not exclusively mutual…but the multi million dollar contracts they are being offered are basically setting them up for life. If it was a peanuts salary…more people might be on their side…but clearly it is not.
For very different reasons but with solid production still suffering as an overall result… it is very conceivable that had guys like Jason Heyward, Jacoby Ellsbury, Pablo Sandoval, Melvin Upton Jr, Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, Josh Hamilton, Chris Davis, Dustin Pedroia, David Wright, Troy Tulo, Elvis Andrus, Hanley Ramirez, etc…lived up to the actual worth of their contracts…players of today might be still landing those bigger deals they want…
…but the combo of being guaranteed mega million dollar contracts and the very decent chance of player not actually providing solid production throughout the life of it (as the majority of players have shown (not all))…and it seems very logical what owners are doing these days.
Saying that…owners are not without their faults either…if they truly valued their fanbase, they would make it more affordable for families to go to games…is one of the biggest.
In summary…I shed no tears for athletes who are offered contracts that set them up for life…think owners need to focus on valuing their fanbase just as validly as their wallets…and wish players truly valued the love of the game over trying to trump the next biggest contract.
I’m sorry your life is depressing dude, but you gotta find someone else to blame other than professional athletes. They worked their entire lives to be where they are. How hard have you tried? Are you even skilled at what you do? Average?
Depressed? I’m not following…are you implying that because I should feel like you and just side with the athletes? A whole lot of hot garbage just spewed from your mouth with no sustenance…and absolutely no valid reasons why the athletes should be getting bigger contracts. Btw, I happen to love the medical profession that I chose to work in and feel very decently paid.
I fully agree with Sharocko
I never once said that I prefer that the “billionaire owners get all the money” but the reason why Machado and Harper are not signed to a team right now is because their spoiled and they both think that 150-200-300 million dollars isn’t enough money. Harper turned down a 300 millions dollar contract to play in a place where he’s loved. Their spoiled because they see average MLB players hitting 250 average, with 17 HRs and 68 RBI making 20 million a year. I’m not saying that they should both settle for a 5 million dollar contract, but when their turning down 175 and 300 million, I think that’s a little ridiculous.
Yeah because that’s what I was talking about.. players in AA
Baseball_dude, “Their just playing a sport”!
Yes, just a sports that is considered entertainment…There are so few players capable of playing at that level..Active roster is 25 players..Only a few of those 25 are really really good…That is why the best of the best get what they can.
Well Baseball teams should all pay for their own stadiums and stop asking for handouts from the public if they can afford to pay their players so much.
I have stopped going to games as prices are too much for a family making even close to 200k a year. I think baseball has priced themselves out. When you have to pay $10 for a beer and $20 to park and $80 a ticket for a good seat things are just too expensive.
Yep!
So much envy.
Oooh! They worked their entire lives to be where they are. These guys are in their 20s!
Of course you do. Makes sense.
@sharocko it looks like someone forgot to tell Freddy Galvis he was supposed to sign with the Padres LOL
You can admit you were wrong now…
I agree…look at how much Jeffry Loria made on selling the Marlins while keeping payroll so low
I work for frito lay a multi billion dollar company making 13 an hr. By ur philosophy i should quit bc im not paid my share not knowing if theres a better offer or not. Teams are basically businesses and players r single employees to those businesses and no single employee is worth 300 million dollars to any company
Pay more to lower level players I say.
You are paid by the value you create. Harper creates more value in the baseball entertainment industry than you do for Frito Lay. I know sales reps for Frito-Lay that make more than $200k per year. They create more value for Frito-Lay than you do so they get paid more.
Actors make more than we are talking about Harper making AAV. The Rock made $128 million for acting in movies last year alone. Don’t hear many people saying, that Rock should have been happy with less. Robert Downey Jr (Tony Stark) made $81 million. Adam “frickin” Sandler make $40 million.
Harper creates value far beyond what he does on the field also.
It is about the value you create for the people paying you the money.
The higher level players set the tone. If they are getting paid less, so will the lower level players.
Are you top 1% of the talent at Fritos? No. The average baseball player in the MLB is. Hall of famers are the top 1% of the 1%. What’s your marketability? Zero. Guys like Trout and Harper have made their team hundreds of millions in their 7 years. The owner of Fritos doesn’t even know your name. Hundreds of millions know Trout and Harper, who they play for and what their jersey number is. Kids idolize them. Adults love watching them play, they love arguing about them, bashing them, praising them, the list goes on. Your comparison is a joke. In a MLB franchise, you’d be the the guy selling hot dogs and beer.
I don’t buy movie tickets to watch the rock or Sandler because their overrated and Burt out. And if Harper plays this year the way he played last year, he’s not worth 300 million. He’s not Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, or Tom Brady. He’s a guy that had 1 great year since he’s been playing. Every time a team gives out a crazy contract to one player, I never see that team win a World Series (it’s very rare). And at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about ( the World Series)
Geez 13/hr. Minimum wage is more than that here in the golden state.
Cost of living is way higher in the Golden State too. What costs 1,5 million for a house costs 150000 in a lot of states too.
Do you run a rout with commission based on sales?
This analogy doesn’t work because players are not just the employees of a business, but they are also the product.
Nobody at Frito Lay makes $13 an hour
Harper “created value “ in 2015.
Geez! He just made a comment. Relax!
If you create the same value for Frito Lay as any of these players do for the MLB then yes you should quit and go work somewhere where your pay is commensurate with the value you bring to the company.
The difference here is the players are the product, they are the ones being sold to the consumers so they should be getting their share. In your analogy you’re the guy who empties the trash cans at MLBs head office so you are being paid your fair share because you’re replaceable, MLB players are not replaceable.
How are the owners “denying them their share”?
Didn’t the MLBPA (the players) agree to the current CBA? Could they have held out and gone on strike to get a better one? (answer: yes).
You make it sound like slavery, which it is not. Any one of these players can walk away from the game at any time – no one is forcing them to accept the owners’ money.
I think what is going on right now is a market adjustment, where teams have realized that paying big money for a marginal win is not worth it, and it’s hardly worth taking the risk of paying a guy who can’t take PEDs anymore until he’s in his mid/late 30s.
This market adjustment is why I believe we are headed for a strike/lockout. Players are going to have to find a way to get paid while they are younger, and probably on shorter term deals, and they’re going to have to play hardball (pun intended) to get what they want.
The owners have no game without the players. You cannot replace the skill set of the 900 men that play the game at the MLB level each season. You can replace the owners.
This isn’t about the 900 men – it’s about the 8 or 10 that are wildly overvalued
Actually, Koamalu, the adjustment we are seeing in MLB is that teams are seeing that they CAN replace the production of a lot of the players – especially the older players who want more money – with younger cheaper players.
There is a work stoppage coming, because that’s what it is going to take for the players to get paid earlier in their careers when they are producing and deserve it.
Teams have figured out that it makes little sense to give large, LT deals to guys in their decline years.
and there’s an even didnt amount of billionaires interested in owning a sports franchise. stop thinking like a worker bee. you have mlb players thst weren’t allstars that’s rain $20 mil by the time they retire at age 35. let’s understand that this is an exploitative relationship. they have the talent owners have the money. they depend on each other but mgmt will and should have the upper hand because they assume all the risk.
Actually the owners don’t have a game without the fans. The only reason why the owners pay that kind of money to MLB players is because we buy tickets, jerseys, food, souvenirs, at the stadium.
If it’s that easy to replace the owners, why haven’t they just done it? Oh yeah, cuz it’s not.
There is no risk to any baseball owner. The worst run franchises float in money.
Yep!
The “yep” was not for the comment about no risk owners. That was just dumb.
That’s a small minded way of looking at things. Owners have much more risk than the players. The Yankees had the highest revenue last year at about $526 mil. 1/3 went into the mlb roster. I’m sure they probably spent another $150 in operations, faculties, the minors, staff, etc. If they’re only putting back $175 mil to shareholders then that sounds reasonable to me. Three are business men that were already billionaires for the most party. They take the risk they get to earn the biggest buck.
The owners take the biggest risk except for the taxpayer-funded stadiums and the taxpayer-funded infrastructure surrounding those stadiums.
Don’t blame the owners for that. Imagine someone came to you and said, “You can either pay for your own office, or we will give one to you for free”. The owner has to take that, because if he doesn’t, the next team will and will be several hundred million ahead of them.
This is the government’s fault for buying into the stupid myth that sports teams generate revenue for the city. We hire lawyers to make decisions about things like finance and economics, and then are surprised how badly the system sucks.
FINALLY @knickscavsfan, someone said that magic word “risk”. Whoever has the risk should make the money. Owners of sports franchises have some of the highest risks of any business in the world. Injuries, bad luck, calamity, war, all of these things can sink a franchise in a day.
And before the “collusion” word comes up, do you honestly think 30 owners, all vying for the best team, will actually agree not to sign guys? With the money that is on the line, there is no way that guys will be left underpaid. It’s like the myth of minimum wage. If you are worth it, someone will pay. Collusion is an intellectually lazy explanation to cover dumb decisions by an idiot MLBPA leader.
Sorry. Just not buying this theory. If the Phillies came in dead last with the lowest payroll, they still have that 2billion dollar TV deal. They lose nothing with the possible loss of concessions . But there again, the bigger losers would be those that depend on those revenues to survive.
“Risk”? Owning a sports team is about the least-risky investment of all time; these people print money, even the crappy teams like the Padres and Marlins – they make money hand over fist.
Just because you think it’s a sure thing, and right now in this singular moment in time it seems like a sure thing, does not mean it is. This is a shortsighted and frankly naive view of the world. You have to take a longer view of history and what can happen. Quoting a number from this year, at a monetary high, is not intellectually honest.
Look at Apple. Too big to fail. They make something way more ubiquitous than baseball and can never die.
Except, uh-oh, they lost just short of 40% of their stock price from October 3 (232.07) to January 3 (142.19); 3 months. An entire baseball teams payroll disappeared between the end of the season and the new year.
So don’t tell me it’s not risky. It’s incredibly risky. They count on fan interest, and you can ask anyone in the marketplace that holding that for over a single generation is nigh impossible. Add into that fact that injuries, draft busts, any sort of depression, and general calamities like natural disasters and large scale wars all loom over the success of this industry, and it’s a miracle that a thing called analytics even exists. The peace and prosperity known to us now is unparalleled.
The owners are running a business. They don’t spend it all on their wives and mistresses. Massive contracts for a single player means less money for other players.
Have to agree Payne Train, Mr. Zippy may not be the sharpest piece of cutlery in the drawer.
The players do deserve every dollar they can get. They just have to learn to recognize when they have reached the “every dollar” amount. The market decides that.
They are not that good! Harper deserves 3/4 yrs. DC i believe pulled that initial
offer off the table. Harper believes the media hype which alot of us believe. Brocrushes aside he is a regular guy. 3/4 yrs. Man if he was Willie at 26 he would be getting 10 year offers. Harper is not that dream player. The ups and downs someone mentioned. And again what his name is good! he is not what you would be proud of as a realitive.(sic) Or the face of your team for a decade. He comes off ify. Throwing bat at people. His whole body of work as a human is odd! Borderline dangerous.
Its not only not off the table, they increased it.
Harper to the Dodgers
So the news is that there isn’t news, got it
Remember when the writers here were predicting. 14 year contract for Harper? Utterly ridiculous then; far more ridiculous now.
I still think Harp to the LAD will happen, Machado to the Phils. My “dark horse”… Machado to the Yanks.
I had Bryce Harper going to the Cubs at the conclusion of the 2018 season. Once they opted in to Cole Hamels contract option I switched my choice to the Dodgers figuring they would clear out some outfield and payroll space to accommodate him during the offseason. The Dodgers did just that but instead chose to go cheap and sign A.J. Pollock. Now I believe Harper will sign with either the Phillies or White Sox, whichever team loses out on Manny Machado who still figures to sign first.
Of course, this will be a worst case scenario for many Cub fans like yourself who hate anything White Sox. For that reason alone, I am hoping for such an outcome despite being the rare die hard fan of both Chicago baseball teams.
I wonder why the cubs picked up the option. With the way free agency works now does anyone really think at this age, hamels would get more money than he is? Cubs could have probably re signed him for cheaper
Just for giggles Harper and Machado to the Rangers of course people I am fully aware this won’t be happening in any lifetime
Don’t count out Harper to the Rangers. Gallo may actually be the draw.
Lmao those stooges earlier in the offseason who thought they would both get $400 million +. Scott Boras isn’t that good, may be a stooge, and both players are very good, but not perennial MVPs. There are no guarantees on how players will do in the future. Those stooges have me contemplating laughter now.
Stooge
Reeeeeeee lmao ( ͡◉ ͜ʖ ͡◉)
Yes. Stooges and contemplating make this an all time greatest post.
What would be the asking price of Trout? Betts? Arenado? Those are real MVP candidates every year without much publicity.
1 of those names is not like the other; 1 of those names just doesn’t belong.
Word…Arenado isn’t in the same conversation.
Hey, I think you missed an opportunity to say “stooge” a couple more times.
The vultures are circling to pick what’s left of the carcass of broken contract dreams…..
I hope both of these idiot get screwed and sign a crappy contract just because they want to out do each other.
Braves sign Harper, Inciarte dealt, Acuna moves to centerfield. Could happen. Probably won’t.
As a Braves fan, I’m only OK with this scenario if it’s priced way below the numbers being batted around. Paying 10-15% of your 40-man salary pool to Harper is not the path to long-term success.
Really wish they’d take an offer. If their dream scenarios aren’t here yet, they aren’t coming.
Dark horse on Machado? It’s been awhile since Arte cut a big check. Might be the Angels.
I’d rather the Angels sign Harper over Machado so we can stop using Kole Calhoun in right field. Machado would cut into David Fletcher’s playing time and I like his OBP in the lineup better than Calhoun.
Artes big check is coming next year for Trout. Hence all the 1 year deals.
“Mystery teams”
Sounds to me like a made up term to try to drum up interest in a crashing market. Only a few weeks until Spring Training starts!!!
No the mystery team is real, it just happens to be my cousin’s little league team, and the contract offer is a free slice of pizza after the game, with performance based incentives including getting shotgun seat when riding with the coach.
Can they work in some orange slices? Maybe an incentive deal for hustling?
No hustle with these two.
Longer that Harper and Machado dont sign, less money and years they will get. Because Phillies have so much money to spend, probably make best offer to Harper. Machado hurt his value in MLB playoffs last year. Machado will sign one year contract around 30 million, and be a free agent next year.
I’m a Nats fan but was glad they did not sign Harper for 10/300. That kind of money really puts downward pressure on the other 24 slots salary to ever get under the luxury tax to reset it. Plus you do not know how much effort you can count on in the gym and cage if he gets 30 M to win an MVP or hit 210. Ten years is a long time to keep the fire burning with no financial incentive.
Since you are a Nats fan, I’m assuming you have actually seen Bryce Harper. I wouldn’t be questioning his effort in the gym anytime soon.
I agree, Harper will land in LA, or SD. He obviously wants to be near Vegas
Harper won’t likely be going to LA or SD anytime soon. Proximity to Las Vegas would hardly be a prime factor in his decision anyway. Chances are if the Cubs or Yankees had enough cash available this offseason he would have chosen those cities over either on the west coast.
If Harper truly does want to play in Las Vegas down the road he will have Scott Boras negotiate an opt-out in his contract in year 3 or 4 of his deal with the likelihood of MLB expansion occurring then. Las Vegas is said to be at the top of the list among expansion options along with the possibility that an existing team with stadium issues like the A’s or Rays could also move there. Perhaps his pal Kris Bryant might like to join him in their mutual home town. Bryant, another Boras client can join Harper as a FA in three years with a decent chance that Las Vegas could have an MLB team by that time.
You know interest is bad when Boras isn’t even bothering to tell any of his normal lies to stoke interest..
Btw.. How many of his clients have signed? Think he may have yet again mis read the market? I believe only bottom feeder types of his have signed as of Feb 5.. like Holland in the 5m and under range, nobody actually for decent money.
Boras is using 2005 tactics to negotiate a 2019 deal. Playing chicken doesn’t work when the owners realize that train headed their way is just Boras on a bike with a really big flashlight.
Season will start and he’ll still be a FA
2 more weeks before guys start reporting. The value is starting to come down
Players still not understanding they don’t get to make their own paycheck. They are only worth what someone is willing to offer. Let them ask for the sky, and watch them not even play next year.
Edwin Encarnacion was offered $80M by the Blue Jays and turned it down, only to sign for $20M less on the free market. Bryce Harper is about to make Edwin Encarnacion look wise. Turning down $300M, which would have been the largest contract ever signed, was either extraordinary arrogance, extraordinary stupidity, or else both. I like watching guys like that eat a hundred million or so. Boras thought he was above the market trends of the last two years and it turns out he wasn’t’.
hah, yeah look at Grandal, Big offer… now one season away from collecting $1 mil pay checks year to year if he’s lucky.
Betting on those one year contracts is so risky. They would only pay you that much this year? Next year, you will be older. Good Luck!
Stanton signed for over $300 million.
Stanton got 13 years though for 325m. Harper 10 years at 300m would be a better contract because hes getting 30m AVV instead of Stantons 25m.
Most people go by total value. I mean, Greinke has the highest aav and no one refers to his contract as the best.
Eddie, while my first instinct is to agree with you, we have all seen Boras and Lozano find deals for their players late in the process that no one ever expected. Therefore, I wouldn’t sell either of them short.
I agree with you that where at least Harper/Boras are concerned, they may have misread the size of the market. Seriously, if the first ask was what the MLBTR estimate was, or at least in that neighborhood (14/420), how many teams did they realistically think would be willing to take on a contract like that? Apparently not very many.
Also, while Harper has MVP potential, it has not manifested itself every year. If the last 4 years are any indication, he’s up one year and down the next. Couple that with the fact that he’s only averaged 132 games a season the last 5 years and I think any/every team would take issue with the initial contract that was probably being requested. If one views his MVP season as an outlier, he’s averaged either 2.9 rWAR or 3.6 fWAR for his career. That hardly seems to be someone worth a record setting contract. I think the hype and player expectations were put out there for so long that many people just assumed they would happen.
All that said, while I don’t expect Harper to reach the MLBTR prediction, I would not be surprised to see Harper bag a $280-330MM deal from some owner who overrules his front office.
Just to clarify, the following is the list of MLB’s highest paid players in terms of total value and average annual value contracts: legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/le…
There was a report earlier, I forget where (CBS Sports maybe?) that said Machado doesn’t like any of the offers he’s got and is still holding out for the Yankees. The Yankees clearly aren’t that interested or, realistically, he’d already have contract.
In the end I think the Yankees swoop in for Harper, who fits much better, especially if Ellsbury ends up in SF..
Both are all about the money. Also who would want to play for the yankees. Bandwagon fans, terrible coaches and a mentality that outspending will win. It’s a young man’s game now. They’re running circles with all the new data.
Ellsbury is an example of old school vs. new school. Red Sox hit their change at the right time. So many teams offers a haul for Betts and for once the Sox were more inclined for sustainability than win now.
I think even the yanks are to wise now to sign Harper. It’s not about that one piece this year. It’s about that piece that will push you over in two years.
Yeah who’d want to play for an organization that consistently fields a competitive team, invests in it’s roster in the largest market that COULD have the first two unanimous HOF in Mo and Rivera? Who wants a chance to play in the playoffs on a regular basis as opposed to say……Pittsburgh? No shade.
I’ll say this, while I do not like the Yankees and think they have a lot of bandwagoners due to their prominence, to insinuate that their core fanbase is not knowledgeable and not die hard is a severe underestimation. I will never root for them but I have a tremendous amount of respect for them, just like I would hope that the real Yankee fans out there would have respect for my favored organization and its sustained success in the midwest market.
Who would want to play for the Yankees? Pretty much everyone. The most storied franchise in the history of sports, and quite frankly the Yanks won 100 games last year WITHOUT their two of their three best players in Judge and Sanchez (I don’t care what anyone says about him, last year was the result of injuries for Gary)
Everyone talks about the Yankees’ lack of depth in the rotation but the fact is you don’t need elite pitching if you’re capable of putting up 15 runs every night. The starting pitching currently in place for the Yankees is already enough if everyone stays healthy and hits, and the bullpen is scary with Ottavino and a full season of Britton.
Adding Machado would be redundant with an already overcrowded IF. Adding Harper adds lefty power which they desperately need, and the Yankees are a Bryce Harper away from being WS favorites for the next 5 years.
Bryce Harper? Anybody else not really care where he goes? He’s been labeled as this generational talent, but that’s not true. He’s a good player, sure, but isn’t there 20-30 players in baseball a team would rather have? I mean, the guy just turned in a sub-2 war season, has a long injury history, doesn’t seem to be the best teammate, and he’s looking for the richest contract in MLB history. And all of baseball wonders why he hasn’t signed? I’m more interested in where Dallas Keuchel will be throwing his 85mph fastball next year than hearing about which team may be crippled for the next 8-10 years by an albatross Harper contract.
Saint Chris, I agree. As one example, to be a homer, I am hoping the Phillies do not sign either one – but if you told me we had to sign one – I would want Machado. And for sure, they need Keuchel more than either…. But that could be applied to any team really.
Yeah! Screw Bryce Harper! Dallas Keuchel and his 3.75 ERA is what the Phillies need to tip themselves to the top of the NL East.
I am not biting on your sarcasm. Troll elsewhere please.
Would not surprise me in the slightest to see the Phillies get Keuchel, Kimbrel, and a star position player by the time it’s over
PinstripedPride – Thanks, Keuchel is getting older but truthfully, he would be a good clubhouse influence on the younger guys. I would rather have him more than Harper or Machado.
Kimbrel is one of those that if he is right, I would take him any day. But that tipping pitches stuff scares me. I still think pitching is the way to go for the Phillies.
I equate my thoughts (for the Phillies) to the Sonny Gray deal which had to get done and the Happ signing. Maybe not hall of fame moves, but big pieces to fix issues. Outside of Nola, I don’t trust any of them.
Even though Gio is nearly cooked I don’t understand why they wouldn’t take a shot at him on a short term deal rather than risk Keuchel money.
I’d rather have Harper than Machado, but still, neither are worth 30m aav.
You sound like an MLB owner. The money is there to spend. These guys are marketable players with MVP potential.
The problem is players aren’t being paid fairly early on in their careers so when they are Free Agents they all look overpriced.
It’s criminal that teams offer players these 5-6 year contracts for $2-5 million aav to avoid arbitration years.
Actually, you sound like an agent.
The money is there to be spent, but you can’t dictate how it must be spent. The problem is that players have a (fair) perception of their value, even if they have flaws, and teams don’t want to make mistake signings.
Take Machado, for example. What if every team, individually, thinks his personality would be a headache. All will say “yes, he deserves $30M AAV”, but in that case not one team would want to be the one to give it to him. No collusion, just the end of the past when teams used to trip over themselves to sign the best talent possible. And if Machado does in fact end up a headache who refuses to move off SS but is poor defensively there, signing him would indeed be a mistake.
The NBA is the best example of this. Teams there still trip over themselves to use their cap space to sign what is available, no matter how imperfect, and oftentimes in less than a year many signed players become albatross contracts the teams “regret”. It is mind-blowing how long that cycle has been going on.
Baseball hasn’t been as bad with that, and even still it is moving on. Unfortunately, players still want what they would have gotten 5+ years ago with the same profile they offer now. Players are not “entitled” to have a team give them what they want; the teams offer what they’re willing to offer.
You make a good point about pre-FA contracts. Those also likely are driving talents such as Kyle Murray away from the sport, as his road to non-signing bonus money is so far away compared to what is available in the NFL or NBA. The MLBPA should embrace that FA isn’t the bonaza it used to be, and use that fact as leverage to demand a fix for younger player compensation, rather than trying to swim upstream.
And please don’t pretend that there is any “criminal” about the contracts offered to pre-arbitration players. Such players can pass on the offer (instead of getting surefire security…ask Jon Singleton about the potential benefit of “surrendering” potential millions for guaranteed, but lesser, millions) and wait things out. Look at Mookie Betts, who had to ride his first three seasons for about $2M total, but then got paid $10.5M last year and is set for $20M this year. A little patience and he is now life-changing rich, as he deserves to be.
Hang on, did you just say that it’s criminal that an owner offers millions MORE money than is required?
No one forces the players to sign those contracts.
His ops is above .900. Hes easily a top 5 player in the game.
He’s a top five player that, according to baseball reference, just turned in a 1.3 WAR season? C’mon. Man, he’s had one truly great season. Andrelton Simmons, the f-ing Angels shortstop has produced more wins above replacement than Harper since 2012.
The last 5 years he hasn’t been, and that includes his MVP season:
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&…
Collusion by the owners to claim poverty before the next bargaining session with the MLBPA
sillyness. if i offer to pay you $30-35 mil how am i screaming poverty?
one can argue thst a player is worth $30-$35 mil.
you CAN’T argue that they are entitled to a 8-10 year contract. there’s enough evidence that shows how bad those long term contracts end in the last few years.
1 year 48 for harper to Oakland
He or anyone else would probably sign that. but it’s stupid.
How about adding 25% ownership at the end of his career.
maddening. pay him top aav and give ownership to an entity that was appointed long before a player was born thst they never invested a nickle into? have you ever owned your own business?
At this rate he should just hold out until the Union negotiates for a more favorable CBA.
Or sign a 9 figure contract with an opt-out right before they negotiate a more favorable CBA…
MLBPA perhaps should hire more intelligent representatives to negotiate for them and tell the members to cease asking for nonsense perks over cash value items when the CBA’s come up..
Yes, I agree. It is time the for the owners to hold out and try to keep more of their money instead of being pressured into spending absurd money on long term contracts. Does any other company on earth devote this much to payroll? Screw the player’s union and all other unions everywhere. They are a cancer to free enterprise.
One of the two will sign with the White Sox cause they know they will dominate for years to come starting next year
Thank God the Giants organization doesn’t have the payroll to sign either of them. They want ridiculous money. If the organization had the cash, I’d rather they spread it out and sign multiple players. Harper’s career stats at ATT (Oracle) Park, are puzzling considering he has hit less than 10 HR’s. He’s not worth the money!! Machado also isn’t worthy considering his “Charlie Hustle” mentality. The Dodgers can have him, lol
Giants were willing to drop $283 million for Stanton and just banked a cool $300 million from Oracle for naming rights.
Giants have the money. They could and should spend it on a superstar in the FA Market whether it’s Harper, Arenado, or somebody else.
Not really puzzling when you actually look at his stats. He’s only hit double digit homers at 2 stadiums that arent DC, and they are both in the NLE.
Plus, he’s only played 19 games in SF. You’re cherry picking.
once again a story about nothing. why would TR even post this?
Evidently the Phillies offer isn’t “stupid” enough for Boras and he’s hoping that it gets “stupider” so he’s using his stupid “mystery team” trick in the hopes that the Phillies do something stupid.
I’m a Phillies fan, and honestly I’m at the point that I want them to do something stupid just to get this over with. The whole market is held up by these 2 complaining because they can’t top 325 million dollars. We are less than 2 weeks from pitchers and catchers reporting, and there is so much uncertainty.
I’m a Phils fan too. I’m happy to be patient and wait it out. I have no expectations. You shouldn’t either as that leads to disappointment.
Impatience is what will cause the Phillies to make mistakes – that and making emotional rather than rational decisions.
A player is worth what the highest bidder is willing to pay.
Competition: Is no longer in the vernacular of the MLB owners: its cooperation: Its is easy to see: Name all the teams that are going ballstothewall trying to win the world series: I count Zero. It is much more profitable to act like you are trying as long as the fans are buying it… that is all that matters:. Any 1 owner could go out tomorrow and change the future of their franchise for at least a decade by signing Harper, Machado, Keuchel and Kimbrel.
And i can hear the thinking: what if it doesn’t work out: well it would be a gamble: They used to gamble to win all the time, now they all want sure bets. and they have brainwashed the fan into thinking this is the best way.. wait til next year..
so teams well over $200 mil don’t want to win? you’re absurd. and this chomes from a yankee fan.
also, you’re right, signing Harper or Manny can change a franchise for the next decade. That’s both good and likely bad. How’d that Longoria deal work out for the Rays? Hows that Votto turning out for the Reds? the Grienke contract?
Yeah they’ll change their franchise alright. They’ll ensure they don’t win for at least 8 of those ten years.
Team no one talks about regarding bryce harper, cleveland! Been shedding payroll like there’s no tomorrow. Brantley gone leaves spot for Harper. Contender, would be a pretty good spot for Bryce.
As a Mets fan I’m hoping the Nats re-sign him. It will cripple them for years to come in terms of financials especially considering Rendon is due for a big contract.
Im sorry i just dont see these guys as $300 million dollar franchise altering cornerstones. Great players, yes. Can contribute to a winning franchise, yes probably. But good enough a proven enough to commit a decade, a third of a billion dollars and 20% of ur payroll to, not hardly. Im glad my rangers arent in on either of these guys, and machado makes perfect sense for them. They plan to be contenders in 2021, he wouldnt even be 30 yet. Alot of money coming off books over that time, new stadium and likely more revenue, have an immediate opening at 3rd and andrus only has 1-3 yrs left at ss. But i dont like his attitude. What are u gonna do when bryce gets 32,33,35 years old and cant play the of anymore and u still owe him 150 million dollars. What are u gonna do when ur when ur fanbase turns on machado bc ur in game 5 of a wild card game and he decides he doesnt want to be charlie hustle and costs u the game or he gets suspended for 15 games in sept for spiking a player. If im an owner/gm neither of these guys is getting more than 7/225 million
If you’re in game 5 of a wild card game youre doing something nobody else has
I’m to the point that I just don’t care if anyone signs these guys.
Tim Dierkes has a staff that can only fill this space with recycled stuff? You can only name drop Harper and Machado so much, and then it starts to get stale. Even non-frequent visitors that sporadically check the various sports pages are burned out on the Machado/Harper saga (or lack thereof). What happened to doing more quality pieces about other people and things of interest in the world of baseball to validate the site’s credibility and to fill down time? I would rather read a heartwarming story about a peanut vendor in the minors than see Harper’s name one more time until he actually signs.
If you want fluff pieces with zero relevant content, ESPN does that just fine. This is a rumors site, the staff can’t help it if the market is dead right now. Haven’t you ever heard the expression don’t shoot the messenger?
they literally cover every single transaction thst occurs. you know how many comments you’ll see in the signing of a utility player to a minor league deal? not much. how many comments for this post, including yours? well over 100.
So you are saying they recycle it to get clicks.
I need help finding a new Phillies board. After MLB removed all their team boards, I’ve been mostly lurking at a board where there are too many fanboys and also those who bail on players after one down year.. Some are/were fine with the idea of spending $800 million on Harper and Machado..
Jimcarlo, here are two:
philliesnation.com/
thegoodphight.com/
Thank you.
as are many fans they don’t care about.. same with the twins..
One of the mystery teams is the Arizona Diamondbacks, I’m going on a huge limb here and saying they sign him
Beyond a top of the market contract, I wonder how much their personalities have played into team’s being skittish. Both of them are supreme divas. If you give them a big contract you are stuck with them whether you like them or not.
Mainly because the asking price of Boras/Player and/or is too high. I’m glad then this is a stalemate then, because you shouldn’t get that much money for the “what if” or potential of even a “star player, rather you should get paid based on consistent results. That would be something along the likes of Mike Trout, always batting near .300 or more with 25+ HRs, not Bryce Harper batting around ..240 last year and not seemingly able to successfully counter the shift, given that he’s a heavy pull hitter. So really., instead of getting 30-35 mil, he really only deserves 20-25. mil. People are basing the price off of what he could blossom into but the results from last year say otherwise and thus doesn’t deserve as much.
Even Machado is asking too much, as I believe the only player worth that much given their time in the big leagues is the likes of Kershaw and Trout, although I believe Kershaw pitching in AL would go up a bit given the DH. Now we see these players asking for high priced contracts for one year’s success only to fall off the following years.
If you believe they deserve this much, it would be fine under one condition: Just like players get or should get incentives or bonuses for performing well, they should also lose money off a base contract when they underperform. I understand its probably not going to happen, but it looks hypocritical at times on the players/agents part when they under perform and have a huge chunk of their salary still intact. Why dont you take responsibility for yourself as a professional player instead of just covering your hide? You could start with a base salary and from there it could go up or down. Seriously sometimes players and their contracts are way in over their head.
I guess what I find puzzling is why we have the impression there’s been a slow FA market.
A quick perusal of the MLBTR free agent tracker ( mlbtraderumors.com/2019-mlb-free-agent-tracker/ ) tells me that a majority of the guys have signed.
Who hasn’t signed – four of the guys seeking some of the biggest contacts – Machado, Harper, Keuchel and Kimbrel, who all, not coincidentally, received QOs.
Why should we be surprised at this? I think the perception is that the market has been slow, but if you think about it rationally, doesn’t it make sense that 3 of those guys, Machado KImbrel and Harper, who all were seeking record breaking contracts (Kimbrel for a RP) are not signed?
To me it’s perfectly rational that teams have balked at handing out those types of deals as easily as the players would like, especially since all of them have warts of one kind or another.
Fact is, it’s been a slow FA market for the second year running following the most recent CBA. As of February 5th, 4 out of the top 5 rated FA’s are still unsigned. Many others on the list also signed later than what used to be the norm and most for less than what was projected by this site.
Btw- Manny Machado wasn’t eligible to receive a qualifying offer since he was traded during the regular season prior to becoming a free agent.
Hey Jeff- I have a sneaking suspicion that the market is so slow for Machado and Harper is due to the fact that they want 14 years and $300-400 million . I don’t have all of your fancy pie charts and stats to support that but you can just call it a hunch.
Neither player is worth anywhere near that amount and until you sportswriters are honest about that, we will just have to endure more and more insufferable articles wondering why more teams aren’t knocking down the door to sign these guys.
I don’t understand why these players want 10 contracts anyway. They are young enough to sign 4 year contracts and be free agents again at 30. 7 to 10 contracts always end bad for teams AND players. Those teams are usually home in October.
I think Seattle moving Robinson Cano and a bunch of other money shouldn’t be ignored. Felix is gone after 2019 and Seattle has no face to the franchise anymore. The M’s are building a young core and a player like Manny or Bryce are young enough to emerge with the core when their window opens up in 2020-2022 and it would give the franchise a star player.
Everyone is sleeping on Seattle but if you look at what is going on it almost looks like Jerry has been lining things up for a move like that. If he misses out on Harper or Machado this year I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make a run for Arenado next year.
Harper to Pirates for 16 mil. Plus incentives for blah, blah, blah.
Anyone else starting to wonder if either of Harper or Machado will sign before spring training..
That’s what I’m wondering. Their agents might be hoping for an injury in order to create a need. Like when V-Mart went down so the Tigers signed Prince Fielder.
I’m so tired of articles being written everyday about where the two fat salaries boys, Machado and Harper might go. I don’t even read them any more or listen on the radio when their names are mentioned. It’s not news any more about either of them until the date they sign. I wish all of the other good ball players on the market could sign right now and those 2 not sign anywhere until May. But that won’t happen. Excellent players will be unsigned going into spring training because teams are hanging on to the assumption the have a shot at one of these 2 phenom’s. When in actuality, a team could sign 2-3 excellent other players for the amount they are putting in one basket for either Machado or Harper.
I seriously think the Cardinals are tricking people, I still see them possibly considering it.
I wish
Set an arbitrary date and move on. “All final offers are to be submitted by Friday, February 16th.”
Bowman should write an article about the world series rings of Harper and Machado.
Rumor has it that one of 30 MLB teams will be signing Harper to a new long-term contract, and another of the 30 teams will be signing Machado.
Beyond that, nobody knows anything and the agents are now in the “blowing smoke” phase where they are trying to stir some competition (and the illusion of high demand) for their clients’ services.
That’s the big thing, demand has never been lower for a variety of reasons. Why make a huge long term commitment for a great player when you can get a player 70% as good for 10% of the price. Or take a chance on a prospect and get a similarly good-maybe-not-great player starting st 500k.
This “Free Agent Class” has received more hype over the past two years than Michigan’s Fab Four did back in the day. Turns out both of these players have warts, and the ground has shifted under their marketplace. It will be very entertaining to watch Mr. BoreAss attempt to explain how his vaunted operation failed to see this one coming.
It’s a whole new world out there in MLB salary land.
When the top slice of the league and the union have both been profiteering off of an unsustainable system for years it’d be nice to have someone in charge of either party actually suggest doing something to fix it.
I just want it over. I’m tired of players signing at the last min.
at this point what annoys me is not that teams wont make higher dollar offers to Bryce and Manny, but that they arent willing to climb anywhere nearer the projections that the contracts would still be well short of. I dont see why most of these teams with lux tax space wouldn’t find $300 million a relative steal given what they were expected to give these guys. why wont you outbid the guy who bid cents on the dollar? make an attempt at least, go throw $300 million with a bunch of opt outs and options or something.
The problem is more the commitment of years than money for these guys. I’d say if the Yankees could sign either of them for an AAV around $30M for 2 or 3 years they would do it in a heartbeat. I believe both Harper and Machado want to go to a big market team (i.e. Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, or Cubs)…more for the attention I think. They will both sign a deal with some kind of mutual opt outs…I think the days of the 10+ year deal are gone, unless you are a “generational talent” which I don’t believe you can honestly say either of these guys have proven to be at that level so far.
If I had to guess I’d say Harper stays with the Nats, and Machado goes to the Phils, but I wouldn’t count out the Padres so fast for Harper or the Yankees to try to swoop in at the last minute to try to get Machado on the cheap.
Had to do a double take since so few of us share that name in this day and age.
Harper has reportedly already turned down a 10-year offer with a $30 million AAV from the Nationals. It’s possible that he simply wants to leave that organization, but I can’t imagine wanting to play for the Phillies or Padres in general, especially for less guaranteed money. The Yankees or Dodgers could be attractive for him, but I don’t think either one is a good fit and I doubt either is very interested in him.
I’m all about getting what you’re worth but there’s a certain point where you’re risking your chance at a championship the more money you ask for. Harder to build a team around that for anything past the first few years. I don’t think it’s the owners holding out, I think it’s truly the players thinking they can get as much out of this as possible and the owners are calling their bluffs.
Agree
Holy Toledo this site is full of posts from people who can’t speak no English good.
We don’t have a yawn icon here??
By this point niether Harper or Machado will sign by the waiver deadline when rosters expand on August 31st.
Machado was seen at Pittsburgh airport yesterday. He and the Pirates are working out a one-year deal. During that year, Machado will be suing MLB for collusion.
I think Harper wants to play out west, close to home. If the Angels got involved, it would not surprise me if they signed him. If Trout leaves, they would still have Marsh/Adell/Harper.
If the Angel’s think they cant extend Trout, they should sign Harper and trade Trout for a truckload of pitching. But there’s so much value locked up in Trout that obviously this isn’t going to happen. I’m guessing Arte backs up the Brinks truck in front of Trouts home.
I don’t care any longer about this nonsense. The next story I read about Harper and Machado will be the one where they SIGNED with a team. This has reached such epic, stupid territory.
The players have to realize that the 10 yr deal is going to be a gone thing it almost never works out for the team.
Stanton’s deal gives him opt outs for the player. Harper I believe is going to get a 5 yr. deal
Just my thoughts. Would love a constructive conversation.
The salary cap should rise by the average increase in revenue of the 10 ‘smallest market’ teams. The cap is rising at an inflationary rate when revenues have been increasing at a much faster rate. Additionally, there should also be a spending floor to make sure that teams are spending a minimum amount.
Not ‘cap’. The LT threshold*
How about this. The cardinals trade Martinez for prospects. Then they sign Bryce Harper. That would be a dangerous outfield and infield with not bad pitching. They could go to the World Series.
Well, the first part already failed, they tried trading Martinez and there wasn’t that much interest. His best value is here.
The A’s will offer Harper 2 years/47 million. Take that to the bank!!
No way he’d take that. It would take 1/$35M or 2/$60M minimum on a short term deal.
MLBTR please no more updates until there is a real update.
overrated player and over discussed. guess a .249 BA in 2018 makes you worth 300 mil these days. No thanks.
BA is not a good stat, OPS is a more better indication on offensive output, he was around .900 OPS which is great, but the reason he is not worth 30 per year is not because of his bat its because of his glove, he is complete garbage in the OF, hence why he was only worth 1.8 war last season, because of his glove, he has never reached 5 war in any season. Unless his glove improves he probably will never reach 5 war. 6 war players deserve 30 mil plus, Harper is not worth 30 mil.
That initial Nats offer it’s looking better and better…
We just need to accept that we have new economics in baseball. More importantly, those new economics are justified.
As a Red Sox fan, I present first and foremost the case of Pablo Sandoval. Given what he had done to that point in his career, his age, his talents, etc, there was only so little you could offer such a player without it coming across as insulting.
But if GMs then were operating on 20/20 hindsight, nobody would have offered him more than a pittance to play. And we would have all be sitting around wondering why absolutely nobody wanted to give Sandoval anything close to what he “deserved”.
And so we arrive at the rub. If GMs and ownership have become better aware of the lack of wisdom in big, long-term contracts, they’re making smarter signing decisions. But if the “right” contract feel wrong given the recent past, that means we’re stuck with players having reason to want more and teams having reason to not give it to them. So, what then? Well, precisely what we’ve seen this offseason and in the last one.
So if this is the “new economy” then the players need to dig in and fight at the next CBA. I don’t watch MLB because of the GMs or owners – they don’t pitch, field , or hit. If revenue grows then it should be split between players and owners.
If I’m voting on a new CBA – right now I’m thinking no luxury/salary cap, a minimum floor for all teams , and service time starts once you appear in a MLB game, immediate arbitration for first three years and then free agency.
If GMs and owners don’t want to pay for anyone over 26 then players must hit free agency by 23 to make it fair.
Please don’t exaggerate circumstances. It isn’t that teams “don’t want to pay anyone over 26”; they just don’t want to hand out the dumb 5+ year contracts that came with big salaries. Lower salaries at a long length or excellent salaries for a short length is where things should settle, and probably will once players accept this.
But I agree that that doesn’t mean all would be right with the MLB world. I was only speaking to why this new FA is fair, not that baseball should embrace it and not change anything else. Clearly, if less money is going to older (aka riskier) players, more money should go to younger players. And given that many talented athletes are passing on baseball due to how long it takes to make big money, it makes sense to fix things there.
Maybe arbitration should trigger after rookie seasons, and we get rid of those ultra-cheap salaries (we can still have early arbitration offer reduced salaries, but gone would be the day of an MVP-level Trout making no more than $1M after proving himself). Perhaps teams can preserve length of control (which is good for the sport, by promoting players staying with teams for a decent length of time) while paying more?
And, of course, as you said we need to fix the problem with service time. We know that the way service time has worked is bad for the sport.
And…what do the players give up?
What about all of the guys who dont make it? I think it is something like 1 in 14 who start in the minors who ever reach MLB. Organizations take on the player development expense. If they cant control investments long enough to balance that then the minors shrink, talent shrinks and game is less interesting with too much player movement.
How about signing with all 4 teams that are in on Harper and Machado. 8 years each. 2 years for each team. Make it so they never cross paths and are on the same team.
Harper to the Padres for 19 and 20
Machado to the Padres for 21 and 22
Harper white Sox 23 and 24
Machado white Sox 25 and 26
Harper Philly 25 and 26
Machado Yankees 23 and 24
That would get too complicated lol
36mil aav for each other them. Each team is only spending 72mil
Incentives for both if either of them wins a world series with 1 of the 4 teams involved. They stay with that team an extra 3 years. With a 20mil dollar signing bonus for winning
thats a lot of hopping around. Must be taking lessons from Xabials mom
The drama would finally be over. Were 12 days or so from pitchers and catchers reporting and those two plus about 4 or 5 other top guys are still lingering around.
To make it more simple. Narrow it down to two teams each. Yankees and white Sox for Machado
And Phillies and Padres or Padres and Nats for Harper.
6 years for each
3 for each team. No opt outs. Full no trade clauses
36mil a year for each.
Coin flip best 3 out of 5 the winner gets to choose kuechel or kimbrel
Rock paper scissors for a utility player like marwin gonzalez.
Machado
Vs
Harper
Vs
Arenado
Vs
kyle Schwarber
Home run derby at coors field 15 swings each. The one with the most 500ft home runs. Determines if arendado stays in Denver or test free agency
My mystery team guesses:
1. Tigers-history of big signings (granted, some haven’t worked so well) and could generate some excitement as they look to build back up.
2. Twins-Out from under the Mauer contract. New face of the franchise in a division where Cleveland are the favorite by default.
3. A’s-looking to build for new stadium plus they went for it a few years ago when they thought they had a good shot when they shipped Addison Russell to the Cubs.
4. Rangers-another team with a new park coming and a face of the franchise (Beltre) retired.
5. Cardinals-can they really be counting on Dexter Fowler?
6. Mets-puts them as the clear favorite in the NL East.
Reds could be a mystery team for either player. Could sign Harper to play CF or Machado to play SS (allowing them to move Peraza to CF). They would probably only do it if Harper/Machado was willing to sign a shorter term deal (they’d probably love to have either on a 1-2 year, high AAV deal).
I like the Rangers’ chances. He and Gallo are friends and he could be a huge influence on Gallo. The Rangers could use the signing to promote their new stadium and Harper to attract top FA starters to finally come to Texas.
Don’t personally buy the owner collusion theory. To me this is similar to Colin Kaepernick’s situation…greedy player over-estimated their market value then everyone came out claiming collusion because teams weren’t stumbling over each other trying to throw the bank at them. Both players were offered contracts that were likely too big to begin with that they should have leaped at, but they both chose to see what else was out there. Kaeperick just happened to come with some political baggage that makes him less attractive. Harper is good, but does his career show him good enough to rate the largest contract in MLB history? Is it a trend to pay whomever is considered the best free agent that year the largest and longest contract in history? Seems like horrible business sense. If that is the case, and the owners are colluding to prevent that, then I don’t see a huge issue.
Here’s the interesting with this and all big free agents in general. We know that with the business model that Boras operates under, sooner or later, he’s going to have a major gaffe with having a major and top free agent on a market, but nobody gives the years or money for because the available dollars have maxed out or he doesn’t fit a need for the only teams that can spend, or other reason. Of course, Boras will cry to the MLBPA to help him fight for more money in his pocket, but at some point the reality has to set in that the system needs corrective measures when only a few teams can spend on certain free agents. It helps all parties in the long run. However, Boras is thinking about the ‘here and now’ and how he can maximize his own bank account rather than what’s really good for his clients, MLBPA, MLB, and the game as a whole.
Agents just want to get their clients paid and organizations are doing everything they can to counter it. Why pay a guy for his middle/closing years as an effective player at $30 million AAV for a hopeful 5-6 WAR (just using 5/6 and 30 to make a point) when you can promote prospects until one fits and save $29.5 million at the potential cost of a couple wins??
The problem here is the majority of players are not paid reasonably in their early to mid 20’s. A good few sell their souls to the organizations early to long term and team friendly contracts so they are paid a bit more but ultimately give up their rights to arbitration. So, once an accomplished player hits 26-29 and is a first time FA, they are looking for $15-$30 million AAV over 4+ years. In Moustakas case, he made the reasonable decision to turn down the 1/$15 million QO, seeking job security.
Unfortunately, the market wasnt right for him and the Royals weren’t even nice enough to give him 75% of their original offer. They cut it down to 33%. Business.
Players and agents aren’t greedy. They are hungry. Okay.. maybe agents are a little greedy. It’s their job.
Organizations are using advanced analytics and pinching pennies at a historic rate. The money is there to spend and they are okay with playing chicken because money is power.
Shouldn’t have hit .249 brah
Zzzzzzzzz. Wake me up when they sign.
You can’t blame teams for not wanting to shell out the mega contracts anymore. We can each make a list if 100 players who signed for big money and term only to become injured or only play well for a portion of the contract. This is why talented prospects and players under control have become such a focus of transactions.
Players and agents want MLB economics to be all about what the market will bear. But it really started going down hill when mediocre starting pitchers began being paid 10 million or so a year. That’s still a lot of money by any metrics. Once big money is not linked to big performance the whole business model will change or even implode
Poor Bryce Harper. Nobody wants to pay $300 million for his 1..3 WAR and bad attitude. It is collusion I tell ya! If he doesn’t get at least 299 million to play baseball I think people should protest. What a travesty!
Now I know a lot of people likely won’t like this and say that these two players played in different eras, and Bryce’s abrasive personality on the field at times has left a sour taste in their mouth – and sometimes mine too but I found this interesting…
Through age 25 season:
Bryce:
PA: 3957
Ken Griffey Jr:
PA: 3920
BA:
BH – .279
KGJ – .298
OBP:
BH – .388
KGJ – .377
SLG:
BH – .512
KGJ – .533
2B:
BH – 183
KGL – 201
HR:
BH – 184
KGJ – 189
RBI:
BH – 521
KGJ – 585
BB:
BH – 585
KGJ 0 426
SB:
BH – 75
KGJ – 92
Now, on the whole Bryce hasn’t quite met the level of production KGJ put up, and they did play on very different teams but both players started when they were 19, and even further, Ken Griffey absolutely dominated baseball in his age 26 to age 30 seasons – a feat I even think is beyond Bryce’s ceiling but perhaps he isn’t too far off of Griffey’s potential. Not saying he is worth $300M + but interesting to look at the comparison to one of the league’s greats in a reasonable recent era.
But Griffey did that, along with defense way more consistently than Harper.
Oh absolutely – I 100% believe Griffey is a better player than Harper is, or ever will be, but I know there was a lot of hype about Griffey and he not only met it but exceeded it. Perhaps Harper can too – only time will tell.
The old 10 year fully guaranteed straight-salary (or backloaded) with player-only opt outs contracts are hopefully extinct. The teams bear ALL the risk in that scenario and if Harper or Machado are holding out for a deal on those terms, they deserve to go unsigned.
If i were a GM, i’d consider a 10 year deal only if the later years were backstopped by team options/buyouts and/or lower base salaries with performance incentives.
I don’t understand all of the comments saying no team wants to pay Harper $300 million?? The Nats have already offered that and reportedly “upped’ that bid recently. If Harper simply wants to sign for 10 years at maybe $305-310 million, all he has to do is re-sign with the Nats.
My guess is Boras is still working the Dodgers, who are reportedly Harper’s preferred destination,.
All this Harper and Machado talk makes one really appreciate what Trout has done, but also how he carries himself on & off the field. Guy is the epitome of a classy ball player.
One: Blaming anyone at MLBTR for this is ridiculous.
Two: Why isn’t there more discussion, hopefully intelligent, on possible solutions? Would making the last two or three years of team control restricted free agency instead of arbitration-eligible make much difference in terms of getting players paid when they are actually earning it, for example?
Three: My ideal outcome? Both sign high $-value one-year bridge deals late enough that they get off to slow starts which don’t improve much over the season, thus compromising, even minimally, their future earnings. Aside from related life-style choices, and assuming they have reasonably secure investments, neither needs another dollar from the game to live pretty well. Being greedy on top of that doesn’t sit well with me.
Kodion. Are you new to this World? The solution in this World is to keep telling people “NO.”
My bad. I should have been more specific. I would be looking for a solution that avoids significant work/play disruption in two years.
Then again, I did say “hopefully intelligent”….
Dipoto waiting in the weeds
Not that this will happen and Im hoping as a fan it doesn’t, but I can see the A’s as a super dark horse for Machado. Sign him, trade Simien for a quality starter and try to win the West. He wouldnt stick for the contracts duration. Would be traded for prospects in a couple years. Again, not my preference…
Harper is overrated and he is not worth 30 mil, great bat, terrible glove he has never reached 5 war and i dont see him ever reaching 5 war unless his glove improves.
Machado is worth 30 mil as a 3B he has a good glove and bat however, idk if he is worth that much as a SS, I think him wanting to play only SS is the main reason he still unsigned.
Edym while I agree with you that Harper is overrated I don’t agree with much else you said about Harper. Harper is not a great bat.Great bats hit near 300 regularly he has trouble breaking 250. Great bats hit more than 30 hrs regularly he’s done it only twice. Also you said he never received a 5 WAR. That’s ridiculous. He had a 10 WAR in 2015 and last time I checked that’s much better than a 5 WAR.I know that even though I never learned “new”math
Your right, I forgotten about his mvp season, and his rookie season, my mistake. I dont judge great bat as having high BA personally I perfer OBP, Harper has a very high OBP around .390, I would rather have .240 BA with .390 OBP than a .320 BA with a OBP .350. Having high HRs is nice but I judge power on high total bases which results in a high SLG, Harper is a great bat as he has reached 1.000 OPS twice although he has been inconsistant in recent years.
Does 2015 not exist in your world?
He’s also not as bad of an outfielder as he showed last year. He’s not great out there by any means, but he’s good enough if he’s putting up an OPS of .850+.
I was wrong I had forgotten about his rookie and MVP season, he still however does not have a glove, last season he had – 3.2 dwar, playing mostly RF and some CF, he was a terrible RFer last season, before 2018 he was just a bellow average defensive RFer, he might play better as a LFer but either way all of his value is in his bat. He is a career. 900 OPS, as long as he continues to take walks and show power I can see him around .880 – .920 range.
…
I hope the Red Sox have a very good idea of what they can get for JBJ — Reds need a center fielder and have 3 top prospects, any one of whom would be the best in the Sox’ system. If Harper’s price drops to anything like 8/200, the Sox should try to get him and flip JBJ. They’d be a juggernaut this year and if JDM or Xander leaves as a free agent at the end of the year, the offense would be fine.
Bert your payroll is already approaching 250 mill and you have no clear cut closer so yeah why not throw 25 mill a year at another player
Id rather keep JBJ and save the money for contracts for Betts, Benintendi, Bogaerts, Devers, etc. Farm is only low bc they produced so many every day players and traded other top prospects for pitching.
Seems that there are 4 teams highly interested in Machado according to the article. Harper rejected 10/$300million and is represented by Boras. Why would anyone with sense chase him after he rejected that? Next move is up to Boras/Harper? Why are writers bent on spinning this as greedy owners? Any asset sold for the highest price has limited buyers in any industry/market. These agents have done a horrible job at understanding that, analyzing performance of players over 30 and the albatross that their contracts become and counseling their clients appropriately.
Collusion
Not collusion. Just negotiating. No owner wants to be the owner of a long term contract that fizzles. Like an Albert Pujols. Like a David Wright. Ten years is LONG TIME.
My Angels are one of those teams checking in, I have no doubt.
They’re just teasing us all. Harper and Machado should go to SD and scare the Dodgers.
Apparently judge earlier said today that he would gladly move positions to let Harper come in. Doesn’t mean he is coming but if he did sign I could see judge/Stanton in left, hicks center and Harper right. Have Harper play center when hicks has a scheduled day off
Apparently Judge has no say where the manager or team plays him
I never said he did ….
Harper cannot play center. He’s awful there. I’ve watched him for seven years, nearly every game, and watched his steady decline. He was a plus outfielder his first year or two. Now he is a liability in right or center.
How To Stop Myself from Making Stupid Complaints on MLBTradeRumors:
This is Trillary’s #1 Consumer Tip to Cut down on Complaints about Articles that Contain Little or No New Information
#1 — Read the Headline — This is pretty explanatory people. If you are sitting at the edge of your chair in your own prison planet, just waiting for a Harper or Machado signing, tirelessly clicking on each new article about the two, but finding the new information to be antiquated, redundant, or not up to par, just look at the headline. It will shave off minutes off your day that you can then use to write other complaints on other articles. If either of the two sign, I promise that it will be in the headline. I’m not making this up. They will put that piece of news in the headline. Isn’t that great?
You can use this time to read the news of the day or to start that novel you always wanted to write — you know, the one about Bill Buckner having a premonition the day before his famous blunder, and how he secretly confesses the premonition to Wade Boogs after the blunder; and Boggs quietly spends the next twenty years of his life convincing Buckner that cause and effect can work forwards and backwards and through the art of manifestation Buckner envisions him making the play, in the hopes that it can change history, only to find out that Wade Boggs tricked him and that all prophecy is self-fulfilling, but Wade Boggs instead was working on his own self and was able to retro-cause himself to win 5 batting titles after being a lifetime .270 hitter who actually retired in 1988, and then win the 1998 World Series by teaming up with Tony Gwynn and convincing Gwynn to quit chewing, leading Gwynn, as manager, to not get cancer and lead the San Diego Padres to seven consecutive World Series titles in the 2020s.
You know, that novel?
Is there even details of the highest offers that are reliable? What happened to the sources? What’s changed? Are teams limiting those who get knowledge of details? Agents trying to keep offers a secret in hopes of getting a team to think they have to bid higher or bid against their own offer?
All of the above.
Why don’t Harper and Machado sign one year deals and try again next off season????
Harper is resigning with the Nats. Think of it as a court case. Most court cases that take longer than normal to get the jury to make a decision. End in hung jury’s. With that said, you take the same idea and place it into the situation with Harper and it means he’s staying with the Nat’s.
If clubs are trying to stay under the luxury tax, why haven’t we seen a deal for like 10 years/ 192 million, but structured in a way that would give several opt outs and league minimum salary on the backend?
Like 30/30/30/30/30/30/(player option)3/3/3/3…
Obviously you can change the numbers to fit however you want, but it would essentially be a 6 or 7 year high aav deal, but lower aav as far as luxury tax is concerned.
Would this idea be illegal?