Harper, Machado, and more: Reassessing the 2018-19 MLB free agents
By Bill Felber
Examining the contract: Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies, 13 years, $330 million
Harper Is not yet 30 and the Phillies have him for another decade, so our judgment of this deal – and a few others – is an interim one.
Still it’s fair to say that three years provides enough of a basis to make a reasonable assessment.
Harper was the 2021 Most Valuable Player, which in and of itself makes the contract look mighty good. He combined a league-leading .615 slugging average with a 1.044 OPS in just short of 600 plate appearances.
The Phillies would take that any time.
How would they feel about a .265 average? That’s what Harper produced in his first two seasons, although again in fairness to him he combined it with OPS marks of .882 and .962, both totally acceptable for a franchise linchpin.
On the other hand, the Phillies have been a .500 team with Harper, who has yet to kick his club home within five games of a divisional title. They missed a Wild Card berth by six games this year.
Presumably some part of that $330 million involves leading a team during the crucial portions of a pennant race. True, Harper batted .320 after September 1 last season, but his club played 14-16 ball and fell out of contention.
In three pivotal late-season games with the Braves, Harper was hitless in seven at-bats and the Phillies lost all three.
So while it’s hard to argue with Harper’s individual performance, it has not yet translated to team success, which is, after all the true bottom line. At $33 million per year, yes, it is at least somewhat up to him to make that happen.