Here is my question, with the reports that Harper (Boras) has met with Ted a few times, including several hours the other day........what is there to discuss? We know what he brings. He knows what the organization has to offer. Who is doing the most selling? Is Boras selling Harper to Ted, or is Ted trying to sell the Nats to Harper? I personally think the Rendon negotiations are also tied into this Harper situation, but that's just me.
It's fair to think about that, but there's a lot of discussions of smaller aspects, though a lot of those are with other teams. Players aren't familiar with other organizations so they get hours-long meetings and tours of facilities and meet all the primary people.
For example, during these meetings, Harper and Boras may ask about how teams manage:
- Travel
- Family Travel
- Family accommodations (NYY has an in-stadium family play room, for example)
- Overall facilities plan (weight rooms, clubhouse, spring complex, etc.)
- Coaching Staff & Organizational Philosophy
- How a player fits into the team long-term
- Player-to-team communication
- Money, of course.
Now, a lot of those things - Harper knows with the Nationals. He knows the facilities, accommodations, everything. So I'd suspect that any hours-long meetings with Nats ownership comes down to discussing Harper's value beyond the field (Boras making presentations about Harper's value to DC and the Nationals brand) and the Nats countering with concerns over his health and consistency compared to other elite players. I would suspect that Boras has a long presentation for Ted and Mark (and Mike) and the Lerners discuss big-picture stuff and, I am guessing, things like "Bryce, how would you invest in the DC community if we committed to you for 10 years?"