NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The Washington Nationals, balking at Bryce Harper’s demands in early talks about a long-term contract extension, now are preparing themselves to be without their All-Star outfielder after 2018, a high-ranking Nationals executive told USA TODAY Sports.
The executive spoke to USA TODAY Sports on Monday only on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations.
Harper, according to the executive, is asking for a record deal that will exceed 10 years in length, and likely pay him in excess of $400 million.
Agent Scott Boras says the only active negotiations of late have involved a one-year deal in 2017. Harper, who made $5 million last season, is eligible for salary arbitration, and Boras seemed mystified by the Nationals' stance.
"I have had no long-term discussions with the Nationals on Bryce," Boras said in a text message to USA TODAY Sports. "No terms, no offers discussed. Only arbitration-year discussions."
In a meeting with Washington-area reporters on Monday, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he would not discuss private negotiations.
Harper, just 24, is expected to be the centerpiece of a the star-studded free agent class of 2018 that includes Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones and closer Zach Britton, Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen, New York Mets starter Matt Harvey, and potentially Cy Young winners Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers and David Price of the Boston Red Sox, who have opt-out clauses.
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The Nationals, who had begun preliminary negotiations this year to retain Harper beyond 2018, believe the chasm in their talks now have become too great to overcome. While no specific dollar amount has been broached by Boras, the executive says Harper is seeking a deal more than 10 years in length, believing it would exceed $400 million.
The largest contract in baseball belongs to Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who signed a record 13-year, $325 million contract extension in 2014 that’s heavily backloaded. It eclipsed the total amount of Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million contract with the New York Yankees in 2007, but pays an average salary of $2.5 million less a year than A-Rod’s deal.
Harper will be 26 when he hits the market, the same age as Rodriguez when A-Rod first became a free agent. In 2007, when Rodriguez opted out of a 10-year, $252 million contract, Boras negotiated a $275 million deal with the New York Yankees that took A-Rod past his 42nd birthday.
Harper would require a 16-year contract - essentially a lifetime deal - to reach that age. Harper has 121 home runs through five major league seasons, and hit 42 as a 22-year-old in winning the 2015 NL MVP award.
The Nationals finished last season with a $155.5 million payroll, and they have already committed $87.4 million in salaries in 2019 to starters Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, and infielder Ryan Zimmerman.
“The Washington franchise has one of the most successful ownership groups on and off the field,” Boras told USA TODAY Sports in spring training. “They certainly have the ability to conduct whatever form of business they see fit.”
The Nationals’ refusal to currently meet Harper’s request certainly explains why the Nationals plan to be one of baseball’s most aggressive teams at the annual winter meetings. The Nationals not only are strongly pursuing McCutchen, but also Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale, according to baseball officials familiar with their thinking.
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They also have engaged in trade talks with the Tampa Bay Rays for center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, but consider the asking price exorbitant.
The Nationals adamantly refuse to include center fielder/shortstop Trea Turner in any deal, but are willing to discuss most of their prized prospects, including pitcher Lucas Giolito, and believe that it’s possible to actually acquire Sale and McCutchen. Giolito and Turner are among a group of five Nationals prospects who cracked Baseball America's midseason top 100 prospects list.
While the Nationals are poised to be a perennial power under GM Mike Rizzo, they realize the window with Harper now is two years. The Nationals have won the NL East three times in the last five years, but have yet to win a postseason series since moving from Montreal after the 2004 season. The last World Series championship won in the District was 1924.
The Nationals, if successful pulling off the trades for Sale and McCutchen, certainly would be the favorites to win the NL East again, and rival the World Series champion Chicago Cubs for the finest team in the National League.
Can you imagine a rotation of Scherzer, Sale, Strasburg, Tanner Roark and perhaps Joe Ross?
The Nats still are seeking a closer, too, and hope to sign free agent Aroldis Chapmanor Kenley Jansen. If they manage to pull off the two deals and sign Chapman or Jansen, the Nationals would increase their payroll by $26 million alone for McCutchen and Sale in 2017, with a projected $20 million annual salary for either closer.
The Nats may be willing to absorb the increased payroll now, particularly with Jayson Werth’s $21 million salary coming off the books after the 2017 season, but unless Harper lowers his demands, they’ll be planning a future without him.
It’s still early, of course. Anything can happen over the next two seasons. Yet, unless either side dramatically changes their stance in negotiations, you might as prepare Harper's next uniform now.
He’ll be a New York Yankee, and the Nats can thank him for the memories.
The executive spoke to USA TODAY Sports on Monday only on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations.
Harper, according to the executive, is asking for a record deal that will exceed 10 years in length, and likely pay him in excess of $400 million.
Agent Scott Boras says the only active negotiations of late have involved a one-year deal in 2017. Harper, who made $5 million last season, is eligible for salary arbitration, and Boras seemed mystified by the Nationals' stance.
"I have had no long-term discussions with the Nationals on Bryce," Boras said in a text message to USA TODAY Sports. "No terms, no offers discussed. Only arbitration-year discussions."
In a meeting with Washington-area reporters on Monday, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he would not discuss private negotiations.
Harper, just 24, is expected to be the centerpiece of a the star-studded free agent class of 2018 that includes Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones and closer Zach Britton, Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen, New York Mets starter Matt Harvey, and potentially Cy Young winners Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers and David Price of the Boston Red Sox, who have opt-out clauses.
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The Nationals, who had begun preliminary negotiations this year to retain Harper beyond 2018, believe the chasm in their talks now have become too great to overcome. While no specific dollar amount has been broached by Boras, the executive says Harper is seeking a deal more than 10 years in length, believing it would exceed $400 million.
The largest contract in baseball belongs to Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who signed a record 13-year, $325 million contract extension in 2014 that’s heavily backloaded. It eclipsed the total amount of Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million contract with the New York Yankees in 2007, but pays an average salary of $2.5 million less a year than A-Rod’s deal.
Harper will be 26 when he hits the market, the same age as Rodriguez when A-Rod first became a free agent. In 2007, when Rodriguez opted out of a 10-year, $252 million contract, Boras negotiated a $275 million deal with the New York Yankees that took A-Rod past his 42nd birthday.
Harper would require a 16-year contract - essentially a lifetime deal - to reach that age. Harper has 121 home runs through five major league seasons, and hit 42 as a 22-year-old in winning the 2015 NL MVP award.
The Nationals finished last season with a $155.5 million payroll, and they have already committed $87.4 million in salaries in 2019 to starters Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, and infielder Ryan Zimmerman.
“The Washington franchise has one of the most successful ownership groups on and off the field,” Boras told USA TODAY Sports in spring training. “They certainly have the ability to conduct whatever form of business they see fit.”
The Nationals’ refusal to currently meet Harper’s request certainly explains why the Nationals plan to be one of baseball’s most aggressive teams at the annual winter meetings. The Nationals not only are strongly pursuing McCutchen, but also Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale, according to baseball officials familiar with their thinking.
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They also have engaged in trade talks with the Tampa Bay Rays for center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, but consider the asking price exorbitant.
The Nationals adamantly refuse to include center fielder/shortstop Trea Turner in any deal, but are willing to discuss most of their prized prospects, including pitcher Lucas Giolito, and believe that it’s possible to actually acquire Sale and McCutchen. Giolito and Turner are among a group of five Nationals prospects who cracked Baseball America's midseason top 100 prospects list.
While the Nationals are poised to be a perennial power under GM Mike Rizzo, they realize the window with Harper now is two years. The Nationals have won the NL East three times in the last five years, but have yet to win a postseason series since moving from Montreal after the 2004 season. The last World Series championship won in the District was 1924.
The Nationals, if successful pulling off the trades for Sale and McCutchen, certainly would be the favorites to win the NL East again, and rival the World Series champion Chicago Cubs for the finest team in the National League.
Can you imagine a rotation of Scherzer, Sale, Strasburg, Tanner Roark and perhaps Joe Ross?
The Nats still are seeking a closer, too, and hope to sign free agent Aroldis Chapmanor Kenley Jansen. If they manage to pull off the two deals and sign Chapman or Jansen, the Nationals would increase their payroll by $26 million alone for McCutchen and Sale in 2017, with a projected $20 million annual salary for either closer.
The Nats may be willing to absorb the increased payroll now, particularly with Jayson Werth’s $21 million salary coming off the books after the 2017 season, but unless Harper lowers his demands, they’ll be planning a future without him.
It’s still early, of course. Anything can happen over the next two seasons. Yet, unless either side dramatically changes their stance in negotiations, you might as prepare Harper's next uniform now.
He’ll be a New York Yankee, and the Nats can thank him for the memories.
