Nats hope to work on Harper contract
NATIONALS GM Mike Rizzo said there is a strong likelihood that at some point before the season he will sit down with Bryce Harper and his agent, Scott Boras, to discuss whether there are avenues open to do a long-term contract before the lefty slugger reaches free agency after the 2018 campaign. Harper and Manny Machado are the expected stars for a 2018-19 free- agent class projected to be among the best in history, and the belief is the duo will both exceed $400 million on the contracts — and possibly much more than that. Boras, in particular, has a reputation for taking his best clients to free agency and letting the market decide their value.
“I am not going to assume he is that kind of Boras client that gets out into the marketplace,” Rizzo said. “I feel like I have a great relationship with Bryce and his family since he was 16 [Harper was the first overall pick by the Nats in 2010]. This organization has a very good relationship with the Boras Corporation. [Negotiations] have not begun. There are no plans for it to happen. There is no time and date. But knowing the relationships all around, I would be surprised if we did not explore it at some point.”
The Nationals were able to sign Boras client Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 overall pick in 2009, to a seven-year $175 million extension just months before he was set to become a free agent in 2016. But Strasburg had enough medical warts and concerns about makeup to raise worries whether he could exceed that total in free agency.
Though Harper has raised some physical and makeup questions, too, he is still just 25 and position-player injuries are generally not as worrisome as those for pitchers. Still, Rizzo does not want “to assume anything. I want to look at all the options and have an honest dialogue. … I think Bryce has comfort with [Washington], loves his teammates, likes our organization and has a loyal mentality. But this is a unique player in a unique situation.”