Harper signing gives Phillies power, lineup and roster flexibility

It’s over. It finally happened.

On the 117th day of the Bryce Harper free-agent saga, the superstar outfielder picked a team.

He spurned the Dodgers, Padres and Giants, said no to the White Sox and declined to return to the Nationals. On Thursday, he agreed to come to Philadelphia.

One of the two highly sought free agents on the market this winter — the other, Manny Machado, picked San Diego last week — Harper signed a 13-year, $330million deal with the Phillies, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

The deal, which tops Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year, $325-contract signed with the Marlins in 2014 as the largest in total value, will include an annual value of $24.5 million — the 14th-largest amount in baseball history — according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The deal, reports MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, includes a no-trade clause with ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan, among others, reporting it doesn’t include opt outs.

According to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, Harper’s agent, Scott Boras, emphasized three reasons Harper decided on Philadelphia: length to be with one team, Phillies owner John Middleton meeting with Harper and his family twice in his hometown of Las Vegas while explaining their commitment to be a top-five payroll team now and into the future, and the “chance for historic achievement” playing at Citizens Bank Park, where Harper has a career .930 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

Harper’s arrival caps an offseason for the Phillies in which they already greatly improved by adding J.T. Realmuto, Jean Segura, Andrew McCutchen and reliever David Robertson.

Not only do the Phillies strengthen their lineup with a power bat, but it’s also a much-needed left-handed bat. Manager Gabe Kapler will have fun writing out the lineup card with numerous combinations at his disposal. In addition to Harper, Real-

muto, Segura and McCutchen, the Phillies still have Rhys Hoskins and Maikel Franco, along with Cesar Hernandez and Odubel Herrera rounding out the projected starters.

Having a middle of the order that features Hoskins, Harper and Realmuto should translate into much more power. Those three combined for 89 homers in 2018, while the Phillies as a team last year hit 186. Add in Herrera and Franco, who both hit 22, and Philadelphia would be on pace to finish a lot higher than the league average at which it finished last year and much closer to the Yankees' league-leading 267.

It's hard to imagine the newly built Phillies offense will come anywhere close to repeating a dreadful 2018 in which it finished tied for last in batting average (.234), tied for the third-most strikeouts (1,520), 23rd in slugging percentage (.393) and tied for 21st in runs scored (677).

Securing a high-profile free agent such as Harper isn't new for the franchise, but doing so at such a young age hasn't happened before. Pete Rose (37), Jim Thome (32) and Cliff Lee (32) were all brought to town on free-agent deals, but none was in his prime.

Harper is 26 and his deal is at least twice as long as any of those other top free-agent deals, which were between four and six guaranteed years. The six-time AllStar and 2015 National League MVP will turn 39 at the end of 2031, when the deal ends.

Something Harper doesn't have on his credentials is a World Series title. One of the game's best and most highly sought players had trouble winning in the postseason during his seven seasons with the Nationals, qualifying for the playoffs four times but never making it past the NL Division Series. His signing makes the Phillies better, but it far from guarantees any additional World Series rings.

The Phillies' front office prepped Philadelphia fans for this offseason, setting high expectations by referencing the money that was available to spend. Add Middleton's line to USA Today in November about possibly being “a little stupid” with spending, and anything less than bringing in Harper this offseason would have been seen as a failure, even though it wouldn't have been in reality.

The Phillies had already improved and had the flexibility to build a playoff-caliber team into the future. Signing Harper doesn't rid them of that flexibility, though thanks, to his relatively low annual value.

The Phillies still should be able to add to the roster over the next few years if players they like become available, despite being tied to Harper for more than a decade.

Moves such as Nolan Arenado's eight-year extension with Colorado earlier this week, however, put extra pressure on the Phillies to get a deal like this done. If they didn't get Harper and waited, they might have never had an opportunity to sign someone such as a Mike Trout or Mookie Betts. . Banking on players to reach free agency is more of a risk than ever.

While Philadelphia's results after signing Harper aren't yet certain, some things are: Attendance, interest, concessions and apparel sales should all get quite a boost along with the Phillies' odds to win the NL East — if not more — after not making the playoffs since 2011.

One thing's for sure: It won't be a boring ride.