Last night, I was working on a story on why Bryce Harper to the Philadelphia Phillies is still inevitable, which I finished up and posted today at noon while on lunch. About three hours later, Jon Heyman broke the news, Harper is indeed headed to the Phillies, on a 13-year, $330 million contract.
This charade went on long enough, and while the Dodgers, Giants, and the Phillies were all apparently in the running, my contention is that Bryce Harper was headed to Philadelphia all along.
In my piece, published this afternoon, I assessed that Harper wished to sign long-term now, rather than short-term with the Dodgers or the Giants, seeking out a new contract after the CBA in 2021. And that an opt-out after the 2021 season would merely be Harper and Boras Co. getting everything that they wanted. I believed that Harper then would only exercise such an option if the CBA resulted in something drastic, like the suspension or removal of the luxury tax, or more likely, a major increase on the luxury tax threshold, which would assuredly result in a surge to player salaries across Major League Baseball.
I continued, stating that Bryce Harper to Philadelphia seemed to me, inevitable, he had been offered what will end up being a record deal, both in terms of total salary and average annual value (AAV), and that it was just a matter of whether Harper and Boras Co. are willing to compromise or the Phillies are going to give them exactly what they want.
Now, I was wrong about it being a record deal in terms of AAV, but it is indeed the largest contract, in terms of total dollar amount in baseball history. I believe that the extra three years are that compromise that I was talking about, and that the Phillies were able to find common ground with Bryce Harper and Boras Co., instead of giving them exactly what they wanted.
The reason this signing did not happen sooner is because of the brilliance of Scott Boras. Boras managed to turn the entire city of Philadelphia, despite and already successful offseason, against Matt Klentak and John Middleton – turning much of the city against Harper, in the process, but knowing all would be forgiven when he eventually signed. Boras forced the hands of Klentak and Middleton, strong-arming them into giving his client the best deal possible.
Bryce Harper in Phillies pinstripes was inevitable, but so was Scott Boras being the inventive, manipulative genius that makes him the best ballplayer agent in the game.
Final thought: Bryce Harper’s relatively low AAV of $25.4 million is indicative of even more of Philly’s plans for the future, and that is, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout in the same outfield. Book it.
