Washington Nationals Have ‘Moved on’ from Bryce Harper
By Manny Gómez
On Friday, Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner told NBC Sports Washington’s Todd Dybas that the Nats have “moved on” from Bryce Harper. Is it time for Harper to start considering 1-year deals?
Entering this offseason, many believed that former Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper might become the first ever $400M man in American sports history. With spring training games already underway, and Manny Machado $300M richer, the prospect of Harper getting a $400M deal are less and less likely.
Especially considering that most of the teams who have at one point or another publicly expressed their interest in the outfielder, are dropping out like flies.
First, the Chicago White Sox dropped out, According to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Then, it was reported that while the San Diego Padres aren’t fully out on the outfielder, them signing Harper after Machado is not likely.
hard as it is to believe, the padres have not ruled out signing bryce harper, too. ownership will meet tomorrow to see if they can make it 2 for 2 on this winter's mega stars. not seen as a likelihood, but apparently not out of the question, either.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 22, 2019
Now, the latest team to drop out of the Harper sweepstakes? His former team, the Washington Nationals
On Friday, Nationals owner Mark Lerner told Todd Dybas on his podcast The Racing Presidents, that the Nats have “moved on” from Harper.
"“We’ve moved on. As I said back then and we had to. There was no way we could wait around. Bryce, I’m sure will make his decision hopefully in the next few days, but we’ve filled out our roster and like I said, we wish him nothing but the best.”"
That leaves the San Francisco Giants and the favored Philadelphia Phillies. Both teams have payroll flexibility and are in need of an outfielder.
The question is, does Bryce Harper want to play for either of those teams?
If the answer is “No!”, then Harper should start to consider taking a 1-year deal and start the process all over again next off-season. At the very least, a 1-year deal would provide both parties with a chance to prove something.
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It would provide the organization with a great opportunity to perhaps entice the star to stay. While at the same time, it would provide Harper with an opportunity to prove – especially after striking out 169 times last season and posting a sub-.900 OPS in five out of his seven MLB seasons – that he is worth the money.