Nats owner doesn’t expect Harper back

As with most things involving the Nationals’ offseason, a day that was supposed to be all about introducing All-Star lefty Patrick Corbin morphed into a day about Bryce Harper. Washington announced its six-year contract with Corbin on Friday, a heavily back-loaded deal worth $140 million. After the news conference, general manager Mike Rizzo was asked: How might the big bucks he used to outbid the Yankees and Phillies for Corbin affect the pursuit of Washington’s big-deal free agent, right fielder Harper?

“I think they’re independent of each other . ... We’ve gone about this business of creating a roster for 2019, and ... we’ll figure out whether that includes ‘Harp’ or not,” Rizzo said. “We’d love to have him back.” But in a radio interview, Nationals owner Mark Lerner painted a different picture about where things stand with Harper, who didn’t accept a late-season offer from Washington.

“I really don’t expect him to come back at this point,” Lerner said. “I think they’ve decided to move on. There’s just too much money out there that he’d be leaving on the table.” Lerner also described the team’s earlier offer to the 2012 NL Rookie of

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