https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/12/07/mark-lerner-bryce-harper-i-think-theyve-decided-move/?utm_term=.ec82e47569e5

Apparently, a 10 yr $300M contract ain't enough; even if Bryce wanted to come back, Mark Lerner says the offer is off the table:

“If he comes back , it’s a strong possibility that we won’t be able to make it work. But I really don’t expect him to come back at this point. I think they’ve decided to move on. There’s just too much money out there that he’d be leaving on the table. That’s just not Mr. Boras’s M.O., to leave money on the table.”

and tbh, it's not even close.

Almost like he’s signaling to the rest of baseball - “he’s not worth what he’s asking”

...none to the level or stature of Bryce, but their interest is in the long term competitiveness of the franchise. regardless of his bat, the Lerners might feel Bryce's contract demands jeopardizes that long term competitive continuity they want to uphold.

if so, i can understand it. even the Yankees closed their wallets after YEARS of spending and rebuilt their core through a balance between the draft, trades and free agency.

Not even Scherzer matters as much to DC as Bryce, and Strasburg doesn’t even compare. Bryce’s only peer is Ovi. He’s a special guy, the hype is deserved and I’m still holding out (a frail) hope that he stays

...that just looks like a shitty deal.

The addition to what the Phils already have, puts them in contention for the division...no doubt

I predict, Harper will do well for a few years

...make some mistakes in the media and engaging with the fanbase...

and when that production disappears...I'll say after year 5 ~ 32 years old

The fanbase will turn on him and try to run him out of town...after having not achieved the goal of a WS W

THIS DOES NOT END WELL.

and we'll see how well the city treats him when he hits, like, .180 for an entire July

i.e. dude seems like a total douche

not busting it down the line
club house fight, and getting the worse of it
etc...

That shit is not going to play in Philly

He'll smile and make nice for awhile, while them checks get cashed

but like you said, let him hit a slump, he'll start lashing out...and get a wakeup call from a fanbase having none of it

We boo'd Jimmy Rollins for jogging to 1st.

The year is 2045, water is currency and the government of the United States of America has collapsed, leaving roving gangs of warlords vying for control over the bombed out territories from which they have made makeshift communities.

And Bobby Bonilla still gets a check from the Mets, right on time.

someone signs a 10 year deal, the last 2-4 years are regrets for the team. Every time.

So the Phils give him THIRTEEN YEARS!!!

That is a minimum or 5 years of paying for garbage. Nice job Sillies!!

but at least thats a reward contract for what hes already done here

...to make the deal worth 13 years? Since most people in here are figuring he's going to be an injury prone one-baseman by year 8 or 9, how many rings does Harper contribute to in order to make those lean years "worth it"?

Is one or two enough? Does it have to be something gaudy and sustained? What does he have to do to earn a lifetime pass?

Meaning if he’s the primary driver - hits like 280+ in a postseason runs with clutch hits and a big spot walkoff in a game - then it was worth it.

Think A-Rod on the 2009 Yankees run

...actually gives a f*ck! like a Phillies fan. LOL!!!

seriously tho', as someone who frequently attends Nationals games, i'm glad he's not in DC any more.

that said, this is the weirdest contract in sports history. money aside, it's just weird.

Using the 2008 example

and the associated 5 years of being in WS contention

That would be worth it, IMO

1 ring...and 5 years of playoffs

i dont care that the Tigers are shoveling money at Miguel Cabrera bc he won 4 batting titles, 2 MVPs, 2 ALCS, 7SS, and a Triple Crown

from 2008-2016 (~1300 games) he gave us .325/308/1050

no ring, 100% worth it

none

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This deal looks trash by the end of year six at best. I'm kinda upset he signed right now because mlb the show 19 was just about to come out without a cover athlete.

This negotiation was laughably bad and so too was the reporting on it. Those two things are linked, in a way.

How can it be that the Harper camp was "using the Giants and Dodgers" to get more from the Phillies? They came to the table with the most total dollars and the longest contract from the start and it stayed that way. If anything he used the Phillies to try to get the Dodgers (and perhaps the Giants) to extend their offers over more years. When that didn't happen, he decided to enroll at his safety school.

From the Phillies perspective, how the hell do you see that no one is offering a deal longer than five (possibly) six years and end up giving him this kind of deal? At best he should have gotten the same deal Machado did.

There is something about the way the Phils are going about this build-up that doesn't inspire confidence. At least the division is kind of whatever (though Atlanta could get even better), but thinking big time (pennants, WS), eh, I don't see it happening with this kind of approach

I've seen this day coming for a long time so hardly surprised. or affected.

it'll be a bummer if he captures a title or more with Philly during that stretch, but can't overpay just to keep him away from rivals.

And he wanted more than 10 years (SF was willing to give him 12.)

https://deadspin.com/these-were-bryce-harpers-other-offers-1832983665

And the Nationals’ reported 10-year, $300 million offer made to Harper before the end of the regular season? It included so much deferred money (it would have paid Harper through the year 2053) that its present-day value wasn’t in the same ballpark as the other offers. $184 million, according to Verducci, or $240 million, per the Post’s Neil Greenberg. The math on deferred contracts is tricky, but since the former figure is coming via Boras and the latter via the Nats, you should feel safe pegging the true value as somewhere in between.

So they made an offer that sounded big that the majority of fans will think was huge, knowing full well Harper would decline it and they could move on saying “well we tried”

The guy they’re hell bent on keeping is Rendon. Apparently preliminary conversations about an extension have already started