Bryce Harper signs 13-year deal with Philadelphia Phillies

After months of speculation and rumors, the big free-agency standoff of 2019 is finally over as Bryce Harper signed with the Phillies

First Manny Machado signed with the Padres with a record-breaking contract. Then Nolan Arenado and the Rockies agreed to an extension with the largest position player AAV ever.

The trilogy finally concludes today with the Philadelphia Phillies signing Bryce Harper to a 13-year deal worth $330 million. It’s now the largest baseball contract ever. It beat Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year $325 million extension and Machado’s 10-year $300 million deal.

The deal does not include any opt-outs and will average out to a little more than $25 million per year which is very far from what some estimations were.

It’s the kind of contract that all baseball players dream of and for this MVP caliber player, it became a reality. He did miss a small chunk of spring training as a result of taking so long to sign, but now that he has a new home, he should be ready to go.

How much is Harper getting in comparison? He’s basically getting more than $1.7 million for every home run that he hit with the Nationals, and he hit a lot.

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For some baseball fans, the idea of paying Harper so much raises a lot of red flags because of how he’s performed recently. It’s true, Harper can go either way but with Harper, his ceiling is virtually limitless.

In 2018, he hit .249. It was the second time in the last three seasons that he’s hit below .250. At the same time, his 34 home runs were the second most of his career and his 100 RBI’s were the most.

It’s possible that he can continue to hit below .250 but it’s just as likely that he can hit .300 with 40 home runs each year.

What does the signing mean for the Phillies?

Regardless of how good he is, Harper is just one player and a team needs a lot of good players in order to do any damage. Fortunately for the Phillies, they knew this and did a great job at reshaping their team this off-season.

They already had Rhys Hoskins who’s been doing great, and then they went and snagged an all-star team this year. First, they signed Andrew McCutchen and then they traded for J.T. Realmuto. Even before signing Harper, the Phillies managed to really improve their lineup. Now they sign someone who can win another MVP or two.

This puts the Phillies as the most improved team of the off-season. Even if Harper doesn’t produce, the rest of the team can lead to a nice boost in runs scored. However, if Harper is healthy and produces, the team can see tremendous improvement from their already respectable 80 wins in 2018.

But you have to wonder if the contract is worth it for a team that’s already kind of stacked. The moves they’ve made already suggest the team can play well above .500 and probably turn them into a playoff caliber team. We’ll have to see what Harper can really do at Citizens Bank Park.

Who knows, maybe thanks to the change of scenery, Harper might be able to return to his usual self. Maybe a couple of seasons with 40 or more home runs is still on the table.