Nats not ready to give up

Nobody expected Bryce Harper to give the Washington Nationals a “hometown discount” to stay put and eschew free agency.

But the Washington Post reports that Harper turned down epic money to explore the market. The offer was for less than $400 million and included an opt-out clause.

Those with knowledge of the offer called it “aggressive” and “historic.” The offer was the culmination of lengthy talks with Harper’s agent, Scott Boras, back in September.

“We’ve had conversations and we utilized our exclusivity to negotiate with him late in the season through when he became eligible to sign with a team,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said at the general managers meetings in Carlsbad, Calif. “We didn’t get anything done, but he’s a guy that is near and dear to us and we are not closing any doors.”

So the Nationals remain one of the bidders for Harper, who seemed to enjoy playing in Washington.

“He’s shown the type of player he is and now he’s a grizzled veteran,” Rizzo said. “He has done a lot in the game already, and he is just scratching the surface.”