The biggest story this winter for the Washington Nationals was clearly Bryce Harper. It appears as though the race for his services is near its conclusion.
The Washington Nationals have done an excellent job already this offseason building a team set to contend in the National League East. But if Bryce Harper were to return, that would be a pretty large cherry on top of their business so far.
Now, the sweepstakes for the outfielder’s services appear to in their endgame with a decision likely to come before January is over. It’s not even out of the realms of possibility that his decision comes within the next week.
Harper met with the brass of the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, but as expected, no deal was reached during that meeting. However, given the fact the group included managing partner John Middleton, club president Andy MacPhail, GM Matt Klentak and manager Gabe Kapler, they likely at least put a legitimate offer on the table at some point during the meeting.
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Now it’s over to Bryce Harper and his agent Scott Boras to make their next move, which could be to check back in with the Nationals and other teams based on the Phillies’ offer. But they could also be waiting on the decision fellow superstar free agent Manny Machado before making their final decision.
Machado has seemingly had a similar struggle to Harper in attempting to secure the kind of record-breaking deal he desires this offseason. But the general consensus is that he will sign his deal first, with the Phillies and Chicago White Sox the main two players for his services.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently wrote that the Phillies actually prefer Machado over Harper in free agency. That could impact their pursuit of the latter if they secure the former Baltimore Oriole, as it may make them slightly less desperate to secure the signature of Harper, should it come to that.
So after the New York Yankees signed DJ LeMahieu, the sense seems to be they are all but out on Machado. The Yankees were thought to be his preference, meaning he may just take the most money on the table of the two remaining teams, and that’s likely to come from Philadelphia.
So if that then leaves a less-desperate Phillies vying with the Nats for Harper, the latter would have to be considered the favorite. After the report from The Athletic’s Jim Bowden about the Nationals’ latest offer being “much more” that the $300 million offer at the end of the season, it appears as though the Nats may at least compete with the Phillies financially if they secure Machado.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently reported that “word is neither particularly likes Philadelphia,” in a recent piece about the two prized free agents. So from Harper’s perspective, if the money is at least close between the two teams, it would stand to reason that he would return to the nation’s capital. So assuming the Machado domino falls soon, we could finally see this scenario play out in the next week or so.
The Washington Nationals’ pursuit of Bryce Harper has been a windy path this offseason, but it may be coming to an end soon. Expect some more rumors to break on the subject over the next few days.