Bryce Harper is among the hottest free agents on the market this offseason, and we now have a starting point as to what he thinks he’ll command.
The star outfielder reportedly turned down a 10-year, $300 million offer to remain with the Washington Nationals, according to The Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes.
Nationals’ offer to Bryce Harper was roughly $300 million for 10 years — so an AAV of $30 million — according to multiple people familiar with it. No opt outs.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) November 7, 2018
Upon hearing the news, MLB insider for The Athletic Ken Rosenthal posited a theory behind the deal.
Some thoughts on #Nationals’ 10-year, $300M to Harper, as reported by @chelsea_janes: Did Nats consider it a mere starting point or a final gesture that would enable them to say, “We tried?” Deal did not include opt outs. Not known if it had deferrals to lower present-day value.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 7, 2018
If we speculate, it’s easy to see why Harper turned the deal down. The offer would put him in a share with Miguel Cabrera for Major League Baseball’s seventh-highest salary in 2019, according to Sportrac. And when you consider he’s a client of super agent Scott Boras, there’s a good chance he’ll be looking for more than that $30 million average annual value. Plus, opt-outs are all the rage nowadays and give players more power, so no options over 10 years very well may have been a non-starter.
The reality may also be that Harper wants to see what else is out there. Teams across the league have been waiting for him to hit the open market for years, so it hardly would be a shock that he wants to see what else he could fetch — especially if it were from a legitimate contender.
Time will tell regarding what Harper is worth around the league, but at least we now know what he’s not willing to take.
