the cardinals had already paid $100 million for his prime years. Pujols leaving St Louis is a lot closer to Werth leaving this year than harper leaving next year
By this time next year, we will have paid Harper 50+ million for, maybe, two years of prime Harper. My point is that the Cards didn't collapse because they lost his bat.
Harper is gone. I'm not sure why people are having a hard time wrapping their heads around this. He doesn't want to be in Washington. His agent wants a monster payday that will set the tone for all future free agents. The Lerners aren't going to pony up 40+ million a year and nor should they.
So, again, if some team is stupid enough to either leverage their farm or give you a top 10 prospect for one year of Harper, you take that deal 10 times out of 10. It's the best deal for the team.
