Bryce Harper Rumors: Phillies Worried They Could Lose All-Star
Bryce Harper is still a free agent. With spring training rolling on, the 26-year-old is still looking for a new home. As this process drags on, we continue to hear more rumors of where he might wind up. Here’s a look at the latest news on his situation as Wednesday dawns.
Phillies officials are worried
Jon Morosi of MLB Network is hearing that some Philadelphia Phillies officials are concerned the team might lose out to the Los Angeles Dodgers if they make a comparable offer.
Bryce Harper update: Some #Phillies officials have grown concerned Harper will sign with the #Dodgers if they make an offer that comes close to Philly’s. The ability to play close to home and train in Arizona both appeal to Harper, who is a @Lakers fan. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) February 26, 2019
There are multiple $300 million-plus offers
Jon Heyman is reporting the Phillies have offered Harper more than $300 million, but “word is” other teams have offered more than that as well.
The Phillies think they have the high offer but their confidence has been dinged by the emergence of the Dodgers. The San Diego Padresand San Francisco Giants are also potentially involved but it’s unlikely either team has gone over the $300 million mark.
Phillies have offered Bryce Harper over $300M but word is others are over $300M, too. they believe they may have high bid but their confidence to win was dented a tad by emergence of LA (a desired Harper spot). Philly has to decide whether to keep faith or dip into the stupid $
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 26, 2019
A decision expected this week
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale says Harper expects to decide on a team by the end of the week. The Dodgers’ entrance into the sweepstakes has complicated things but he is still planning to be decided before the week is up.
Padres never made a formal offer
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting the Padres never actually made a formal offer to Harper. They exchanged proposals with Harper’s reps but there was never a formal offer.
The #Padres never made a formal offer to Bryce Harper. (This comes from people inside and outside the organization.)
— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) February 25, 2019
A “proposal” is the way multiple people put it. It was not what Harper was looking for, and there was no counter-proposal made.
Here is the part where I remind you what kind of player Harper is. At 26, he’s in the middle of his prime, won the NL MVP Award in 2015 and has racked up a 30.7 fWAR over his first seven seasons. In 2018, he hit .249 with 34 home runs, 100 RBIs, an OPS of .889 and a 3.5 fWAR. And that was clearly a down year for him.
The kid is easily one of the best players in baseball and it’s insane that he’s still a free agent.