But if they do, it almost certainly won't be that deal, and Mike Rizzo acknowledged Tuesday that his team cannot afford to wait around. Well into free agency, Bryce Harper still thought he was going to remain a Washington National, but he also assumed he'd be able to get more from the franchise than the 10-year 300 million contract offered to him in September. The sides could still strike a deal later in the offseason. But people familiar with the offer also indicate that it is now off the table, an offer meant to capitalize on the Nationals' exclusive negotiating rights with Harper that stood for five weeks until the 26-year-old officially became a free agent. The consensus among both sides is that it was a respectful, genuine effort. Teams do make token offers now and then, to save face or push the price up for rivals. The Philadelphia Phillies signed Bryce Harper to a 13-year, 330 million contract that is the second biggest in baseball history. So where does that leave Harper and the Nationals now? Importantly, both sides felt the offer was legitimate and respectful. For years now, Boras has been selling Harper as a talent so rare he could command more than $400 million, and when presented with that number this week, he joked, "Why be so limiting?" And some would have considered them negligent not to do so. Drafted, developed, signed, been an MVP for us.”ĪP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.Second, Bryce Harper and his agent, Scott Boras, turned that deal down. “I love walking into this clubhouse every single day and putting my Nationals uniform on and I’m going to enjoy this year and next year and not really worry about anything beyond that,” Harper said.Īdded Rizzo: “We have a great relationship with Harp. “A lot of hardware at 24 years old, and with the arrow still pointing north.”īoth Harper and Rizzo said the sides didn’t discuss anything beyond 2018. “He’s a very unique player that’s difficult to come up with, a person that’s 24 years old with an MVP on his belt and a bunch of All-Star Games and Silver Sluggers,” Rizzo said. He also would get $100,000 each for being an All-Star or winning a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger award. In addition to his base salary, Harper can make $1 million for winning the 2018 NL MVP, $500,000 for finishing second in the voting, $250,000 for third, $150,000 for fourth and $100,000 for fifth. “Couldn’t get a two-year deal done at the time, but both sides always had open-mindedness of trying to put the five-plus arbitration season behind us,” Rizzo said. ![]() Rizzo and Harper said discussions about the 2018 contract began last offseason as the parties negotiated ahead of the scheduled exchange of figures in arbitration on Jan 13. “I think most important, there’s a comfort level, a comfortable player that doesn’t have to worry about discussing a contract next year,” he said. 6 that Harper rejected a 'mega' contract offer on the final day of the regular season. USA Today s Bob Nightengale reported on Nov. It gives us cost-certainty going into the season next year, and next year’s payroll.” The Nationals tried to keep Harper from even hitting free agency. “I think it shows the comfort level Bryce has with the organization and that we have with him,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said. 372 with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs in 31 games for the team with the best record in the National League. 243 with 24 home runs and 86 RBIs in 2016. Harper is making $13,625,000 this season. We’re able as a team and an organization to go out and not have to worry about me going into arbitration for another year or anything like that.” “We’re able to go into the offseason and worry about different things. “I think it’s huge,” Harper said, hours before the Nationals hosted Philadelphia. The four-time All-Star was the unanimous NL MVP in 2015. The 24-year-old Harper would’ have been eligible for salary arbitration next winter. Harper and the Washington Nationals reached a $21,625,000 deal for the 2018 season, a contact that gives him an $8 million raise and covers the slugging outfielder through his last year before he can become a free agent. WASHINGTON - Bryce Harper put up another big number Saturday without taking another swing.
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