The richest deal in Major League Baseball history, worth $330 million, was signed by Bryce Harper by the Phillies in February 2019. That was accurate for a little over a month.
Three weeks later, the Angels extended Mike Trout, raising the total amount of his contract to $426.5 million. After being pushed down the list in subsequent years, Harper’s deal is currently the seventh-richest in history, behind Trout, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Manny Machado, Francisco Lindor, and Fernando Tatis Jr.
Harper still has eight years and $196 million left on his contract, but according to his agent Scott Boras, who was speaking at the Winter Meetings on Wednesday, he has already informed the Phillies that he is open to negotiating an extension.
In Nashville, Boras told reporters, “Bryce has certainly expressed to them that he wants to end his career in Philadelphia.”
After five years, he has somewhat demonstrated to them his identity and the reasons he is a franchise player. I believe he has altered the perception of Philadelphia among players, and as a result, he has entered and stated, “I want this off my mind.” I want to play far longer than my current deal allows.
“For the fans, he went there. In addition to my counsel, he says, “I just want to go make sure I can recruit players in Philadelphia, let the fans know that I’m committed to staying there for the duration.” He has, in my opinion, been a crucial voice in helping them draw in big free agents.”
In addition to being a great recruiter, Harper’s deal structure has given the Phillies more flexibility to continue investing. His $330 million is distributed over 13 years, or $25.38 million on average every year. The average is the figure that MLB uses to determine each player’s luxury tax payroll.
With his worth to the Phillies both on and off the field, Harper’s average of $25.38 million ranks 41st all-time, an astoundingly low ranking.
The crew appears to be interested in ensuring his happiness and extending his stay beyond what was first anticipated. The owner of the Phillies, John Middleton, said that Harper, the two-time MVP, would not be getting paid enough after his thrilling home run in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the 2022 NLCS propelled the team over the Padres and into the World Series.
That evening, Middleton stated, “I think I underpaid him.” That’s what I told him tonight. I previously mentioned that to Scott Boras.”
In contrast to numerous expensive free agents from previous offseasons, Harper explicitly requested that his contract not include any opt-outs. He was motivated by multiple factors. He didn’t want to be answering questions about his future intentions after years of being questioned about them in Washington. For him, building something up was equally crucial. Rather than become a hired gun pursuing a ring, he wanted to build a winner in Philadelphia.
After five years, Harper has completed the most of these tasks. The Phillies have emerged as a serious competitor. Zack Wheeler, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto, and Aaron Nola are just a few of the players they’ve added.
Harper drove in a career-high 114 runs during his debut season with the Phillies. He was named MVP in his third. The squad was two wins away from a World Series in his fourth. He carried over his famous postseason resume in his fifth.
The most important element is still absent: a championship.
“He has a lot of goals that he wants to achieve in Philadelphia,” Boras stated. He’s obviously a Hall of Fame caliber talent. He wishes to continue pursuing his own goals in the game there.”
The off-season may be now, if that’s the case. Re-signing Nola was the Phillies’ first objective, and that agreement was finalized prior to Thanksgiving. Their remaining requirements, which are bullpen support and possibly another versatile bat with outfield ability, are not urgent and may take some time to satisfy. Dombrowski said that the Phillies are in an open situation right now. They are examining the trade and free-agent markets to determine what makes sense and what could be valuable.
They will therefore have some time to work out the specifics of a new agreement for Harper. Wheeler’s contract needs to be resolved more urgently because he will become a free agent in 2024, although there have been hints that he would prefer to go to the open market where there would be competitive