POLL: UPDATED: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....

[Nick the Pig]

I'm in my 40s, and I've always felt like I am a youngin on this board.....

Mathguy, that was your 7777th post....  You should get a prize for that, I think.

You're only as young, or as old, as you feel...

[UMDNats]

If Harper wanted to, he could meet the Nationals in the middle and sign a 5 year deal. He would be a free agent at 31 and he would still be able to land a massive 10 year deal.

That doesn't make sense. Teams aren't giving out a 10 year deal to 26 year old Bryce who still has upside but are giving out a 10 year deal to 31 year old Bryce?

[mitlen]

Rizzo on 106.7 talkin' baseball and Hawpah.

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

Rizzo on 106.7 talkin' baseball and Hawpah.

Recap?

[UMDNats]

Mark Lerner said to NBCSW that he hasn't talked to Boras in months and that they've moved on and wish him well.

[NJ Ave]

Mark Lerner said to NBCSW that he hasn't talked to Boras in months and that they've moved on and wish him well.

Well that can't help Boras' negotiating ability with other teams

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

Mark Lerner said to NBCSW that he hasn't talked to Boras in months and that they've moved on and wish him well.

Hasn't the rumor always been that Ted is the guy who ultimately Boras will circle back to? 

[Duke of Earl]

Hasn't the rumor always been that Ted is the guy who ultimately Boras will circle back to?

Yeah but I'm sure it's Mark who's pulling Ted's strings.

[DPMOmaha]

He also said the door was still cracked just a bit.

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

I maintain that if it's Philly's offer that Boras comes back to Ted with to see about matching, that Ted will have a hard time with Bryce going to a division rival and will make a real effort to work something out.  I don't think that will be just straight up matching, and of course deferrals are usually part of it, but I think they will try something.  Now, if the Giants or Padres end up making some 10 year 325+ million dollar offer, I think they just let him walk.  They obviously aren't direct competition within the division.  The Giants would still be facing a totally rebuild around Harper and don't have any young talent to speak of.  I don't even really understand why Harper is a big priority for them.  The Padres could be maybe a year away if they add Harper, needing to let their young arms develop and add a vet or 2 to that rotation mix. 

But, let Harper go to the Phillies, and your fear is he goes off and them and the Braves are kicking your butts in the NL East.  Even the Mets should be improved.  What if Robles struggles as a rookie or Eaton gets hurt again?  Maybe Soto has a Sophomore Slump and is merely pretty good?  These are fears I think that could drive the Nats to at the last hour trty and keep Harper from Philly. 

[Duke of Earl]

  I don't even really understand why Harper is a big priority for them. 

There was a  pretty good analysis of that this morning on MLB XM.  It's not about winning. Two things: (1) competing for revenue, particularly against the Warriors.  (2) Giants like having a Face of the Franchise:  May, Bonds (granted, a long time between those two) and they want another.

[Trea Burner]

Mark Lerner said to NBCSW that he hasn't talked to Boras in months and that they've moved on and wish him well.

Translation: Nice try Boras, go use someone else for leverage with Phillies.

[nfotiu]

Translation: Nice try Boras, go use someone else for leverage with Phillies.

If the Lerners are resigned to the fact that Harper is going to the Phillies, they should be doing everything they can to drive up his price.  If there is anything strategic about saying they are out, it would be to keep his price low for us.

[UMDNats]

If the Lerners are resigned to the fact that Harper is going to the Phillies, they should be doing everything they can to drive up his price.  If there is anything strategic about saying they are out, it would be to keep his price low for us.

The Phillies aren't stupid, they know media comments are not really anything to listen to. If anything Mark has said for months that they have moved on from Bryce, and at this point the public perception is that the Phillies are bidding against themselves and Bryce has no alternatives. I don't see the price changing at all at this point, teams have made their offers I suspect, and Bryce and Scott are hoping that waiting will mean more desperation from Philly to give a little more money or concessions.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Lost me right there

The Phillies aren't stupid

[mitlen]

Recap?

Rizzo followed the company line.     Not much different than Lerner.

https://thefandc.radio.com/articles/mike-rizzo-no-ongoing-discussions-bryce-harper-or-scott-boras

[RiotAct]

come on Bryce, sign somewhere this afternoon and steal the headlines back from Robert Kraft!

[Elvir Ovcina]

There was a  pretty good analysis of that this morning on MLB XM.  It's not about winning. Two things: (1) competing for revenue, particularly against the Warriors.  (2) Giants like having a Face of the Franchise:  May, Bonds (granted, a long time between those two) and they want another.

It's partly about winning.  Their "fans" (so much as a bunch of people who text all game and can't name a single one of their current outfielders can be called such) were openly grousing last year about the A's being better, something that seems reasonably likely again this year.

[shoeshineboy]

The latest comments by Mark Lerner are fascinating. If they have actually been in contact with Boras, and his comments are BS, then this seems like they know they are out and just trying to set expectations. But why bother when it remaining quiet can simply make the other teams spend more. If they truly have not been in contact in months it calls into question any whether they were ever in the mix at all from either side's perspective. It actually is reasonable to have moved on months ago and simply allow speculation to drive up the price for others. That would actually make a whole lot of sense. What will never make sense to me is how this ownership has missed on more than one occasion the chance to trade away its best assets at the trade deadline. Seriously. What a squandered opportunity.

[Natsinpwc]

The latest comments by Mark Lerner are fascinating. If they have actually been in contact with Boras, and his comments are BS, then this seems like they know they are out and just trying to set expectations. But why bother when it remaining quiet can simply make the other teams spend more. If they truly have not been in contact in months it calls into question any whether they were ever in the mix at all from either side's perspective. It actually is reasonable to have moved on months ago and simply allow speculation to drive up the price for others. That would actually make a whole lot of sense. What will never make sense to me is how this ownership has missed on more than one occasion the chance to trade away its best assets at the trade deadline. Seriously. What a squandered opportunity.

I don’t think Boswell would have run that column with quotes if there was a chance Harper would be back. The Phillies and any other team know that.

[Senatorswin]

Hopefully the Phillies pay so much for Harper they can't afford Trout in two years.

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

He quickly followed up saying they've moved on with the door is always cracked.  Obviously, the Nats had to operate this offseason as if they wouldn't bring Harper back.  As he said, they couldn't wait.  So yes, they "moved on" in that sense.  They went ahead and built a team.  So why say the door is cracked?  Unless you think it's just to scare the Phillies into a higher offer, then I assume there is a price point at which Boras could circle back and they would meet it. 

[Duke of Earl]

He quickly followed up saying they've moved on with the door is always cracked.  Obviously, the Nats had to operate this offseason as if they wouldn't bring Harper back.  As he said, they couldn't wait.  So yes, they "moved on" in that sense.  They went ahead and built a team.  So why say the door is cracked?  Unless you think it's just to scare the Phillies into a higher offer, then I assume there is a price point at which Boras could circle back and they would meet it.

My guess is that the Phillies "Best and Final" is far less than the 10/300+ being kicked around.  Maybe 7/$200M. That's a deal the Nats would probably do.   Harper can say no, I'm not taking anything less than 10 years, $310M, and he can sit out the season, or he can take the best offer and suffer some degree of humiliation. I wonder if he's really stupid enough to sit out. But leaving the door open is the Nats way of saying, if the best offer you're getting is something we can match, come back to us.

[imref]

if he sits out, his value only goes down.  He could always swallow his pride and take a shorter term deal, or work out a deal with an opt-out.

[UMDNats]

A source shared with me the last contact Mark and Scott Boras had: