Harper, Phils reach 13-year deal

[packs]

13 years and no opt out is crazy. They still need a rotation behind Nola to compete though. If Bryce wants a championship he was better off in Washington.

[BearBailey]

Finally a contract that will make Chris davis contract look like a bargain.

[Lorewalker]

I am a Dodgers' fan so thank you Phillies! Was hoping the Dodgers were not going to sign him.

[clydepepper]

He'd better grow some very thick skin very quickly!

[Jim65]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

He'd better grow some very thick skin very quickly!

Harper has a habit of not running hard or even getting all the way to first on fly balls, Philly fans will kill him if he does that now.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Jim65

Harper has a habit of not running hard or even getting all the way to first on fly balls, Philly fans will kill him if he does that now.

I've watched most every game of Harper's career. He also doesn't run hard to first base on ground balls, unless he smells a base hit. And, I've seen Harper get a single off a ball he hit off the right field wall AND barely make it to second base on a ball he hit over the center fielder's head, because he lingered at home plate to admire what he thought was going to be home runs. I say, Good Riddance!!

[AndrewJerome]

The allure of both Harper and Machado is that they are relatively young as free agents hitting the market since they both started in the bigs as teenagers. Hence the huge money. I don't think either is a generational player deserving $300M. Neither has an AROD type resume entering free agency.

Bryce has two monster seasons (.330 BA and 1.109 OPS in 2015 and .319 and 1.008 OPS in 2017) and then a few just OK seasons mixed in. Just a weird roller coaster of a career thus far. Shows superstar talent and then has weird clunker seasons. With plenty of questions about being a good teammate etc.

In my opinion Machado has a much weaker case than Bryce for the big money. He has similar questions about being a good teammate / head case. But he's never had a monster year. And the best OPS of his career was last year at .905. Career .822 OPS guy gets $300M? Defense can't possibly be THAT good. I understand you have to overpay to as a small market team (my Ms did the same thing with Cano), but I just don't understand the allure of Machado as a huge $ player, especially given his antics in the playoffs last year.

[Bagwell-1994]

Originally Posted by packs

13 years and no opt out is crazy. They still need a rotation behind Nola to compete though. If Bryce wants a championship he was better off in Washington.

Maybe. But looking at 2018 stats, it's pretty much a "push" IMO.

Nationals Top Starters:
Max Scherzer ERA 2.53
Tanner Roark ERA 4.34
Gio Gonzalez ERA 4.57
Stephen Strasburg ERA 3.74
Jeremy Hellickson ERA 3.45

Team Overall ERA: 4.04 WHIP 1.25 SAVES 40

Phillies Top Starters:
Aaron Nola ERA 2.37
Jake Arrieta ERA 3.96
Nick Pivetta ERA 4.77
Vince Velasquez ERA 4.85
Zach Eflin ERA 4.36

Team Overall ERA: 4.14 WHIP 1.29 SAVES 44

The overall pitching performance of both teams was nearly identical with Washington posting a slightly better ERA and WHIP. The Phillies seem to be generally younger (at least with regard to the pitching staff, the hitting line ups both pose a wealth of young talent) so there's more room for growth/improvement among the Phillies rotation.

I think the Braves are who Bryce and co. may be competing against more so than the Nats. Their 2018 team stats: ERA: 3.75 WHIP 1.28 SAVES 40 were outstanding and posted an even better team ERA than the Mets (despite their superb starting rotation and Cy Young winner deGrom). The Braves have several young core hitters posed to do big things and with perennial all-star production from Freddie Freeman, they seem to be the class of the NL East until proven otherwise IMO.

[packs]

Originally Posted by Bagwell-1994

Maybe. But looking at 2018 stats, it's pretty much a "push" IMO.

Nationals Top Starters:
Max Scherzer ERA 2.53
Tanner Roark ERA 4.34
Gio Gonzalez ERA 4.57
Stephen Strasburg ERA 3.74
Jeremy Hellickson ERA 3.45

Team Overall ERA: 4.04 WHIP 1.25 SAVES 40

Phillies Top Starters:
Aaron Nola ERA 2.37
Jake Arrieta ERA 3.96
Nick Pivetta ERA 4.77
Vince Velasquez ERA 4.85
Zach Eflin ERA 4.36

Team Overall ERA: 4.14 WHIP 1.29 SAVES 44

The overall pitching performance of both teams was nearly identical with Washington posting a slightly better ERA and WHIP. The Phillies seem to be generally younger (at least with regard to the pitching staff, the hitting line ups both pose a wealth of young talent) so there's more room for growth/improvement among the Phillies rotation.

I think the Braves are who Bryce and co. may be competing against more so than the Nats. Their 2018 team stats: ERA: 3.75 WHIP 1.28 SAVES 40 were outstanding and posted an even better team ERA than the Mets (despite their superb starting rotation and Cy Young winner deGrom). The Braves have several young core hitters posed to do big things and with perennial all-star production from Freddie Freeman, they seem to be the class of the NL East until proven otherwise IMO.

The Nationals signed Corbin this offseason. The Phillies didn't sign anybody to start. The Braves prospects lie entirely on their prospects. Soroka is already hurt and so is Vizcaino. It's going to be a hit or miss year for them.

All this is without even talking about the monster line up Washington has on top of aces in Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin. Heading into a playoff series that's quite a three headed dragon to deal with.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

The Nationals signed Corbin this offseason. The Phillies didn't sign anybody to start. The Braves prospects lie entirely on their prospects. Soroka is already hurt and so is Vizcaino. It's going to be a hit or miss year for them.

All this is without even talking about the monster line up Washington has on top of aces in Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin. Heading into a playoff series that's quite a three headed dragon to deal with.

Harper just wanted the most $$$$ to feed his stupid ego, I don't think winning matters to him so much.

[packs]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Harper just wanted the most $$$$ to feed his stupid ego, I don't think winning matters to him so much.

I agree, which is especially surprising since he's been described as not being a winner by multiple people and he always seemed miffed about it.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

I agree, which is especially surprising since he's been described as not being a winner by multiple people and he always seemed miffed about it.

Even if he didn't have confidence in the Nationals, he could have gone to the Dodgers obviously an elite team. Not like the difference in money would have had any effect on his life, at that point it's funny money.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Harper just wanted the most $$$$ to feed his stupid ego, I don't think winning matters to him so much.

Sounds like sour grapes. The media and the owners played right into it too.

I just don't see him as one of the elite all things considered. I guess we can expect lots more of these contracts as more .239 32 HR and 84 RBI players enter free agency. Ticket prices and hotdogs are about to get more expensive.

[clydepepper]

Anyone want to guess the over / under on how many years into this contract we get before someone or everyone is looking for an out?



.

[Jewish-collector]

I'm predicting he will have a career statistically pretty much like Fred Lynn did.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Anyone want to guess the over / under on how many years into this contract we get before someone or everyone is looking for an out?



.

1 month.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

13 years and no opt out is crazy. They still need a rotation behind Nola to compete though. If Bryce wants a championship he was better off in Washington.

It's an absurd contract to give a 26 year old who has had his share of ups and downs, and some significant injuries, and is an average at best outfielder. 2018 WAR 1.3 by the way.

[Yastrzemski Sports]

It’s unbelievable to me that there are teams out there still handing out these contracts which have very rarely worked out for the team. I’m just glad it’s not my team.
On the bright side, maybe the money given to Harper, Machado and Arenado will hopefully avoid a labor strike in a couple of years. With $300 mil being thrown around it’s hard to cry about player salaries. Throw in Corbin, McCutchen and Pollock and I would say the players are doing ok.