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

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

Two words: Max Contracts.

It's also a terrible comp because NBA players don't require you to sign them long-term into their twilight years.  In the same system, Harper would have every team with room offering him a "max" deal and it would just be a matter of where he wanted to go. 

[UMDNats]

Now the national reporter take is that Bryce always wanted the Dodgers or Cubs and never wanted the Phillies or any other team but those 2. I think this is hilarious. I am starting to believe more and more that he wasnt a cancer in the clubhouse but an anchor because his attitude last year.

guy named his dog Wrigley, of course he wanted to go to the cubs. when they won in 2016 i bet he was upset because he wanted to be the guy to lift them up

my friend said it best: "the cubs and harper are like two friends who wanted to date each other but the timing never worked out because one was always in a relationship"

[Trea Burner]

Any team that signs Bryce to 8+ years is going to regret it.

A) He is bad defensively.
B) His swing mechanics are brute force. As he gets older, injuries are going to pile up.
C) He is a diva, so any slight pain (e.g., sore shoulder) he will sit out and collect his paycheck.

Good luck to the Phillies, Dodgers or whoever takes the plunge.

[Trea Burner]

guy named his dog Wrigley, of course he wanted to go to the cubs. when they won in 2016 i bet he was upset because he wanted to be the guy to lift them up

my friend said it best: "the cubs and harper are like two friends who wanted to date each other but the timing never worked out because one was always in a relationship"

Harper is that front-runner athlete who wants to be on the Yankees, Cubs or Dodgers. 2 of the 3 don’t want him and we don’t know if the Dodgers are serious or just want to drive up the price for Phillies/Giants.

Imo it kills Bryce that the Yankees didn’t even bother to pursue him.

[UMDNats]

Imo it kills Bryce that the Yankees didn’t even bother to pursue him.

i'd agree. you have to think when they traded for stanton he was pissed because he knew there was an opening otherwise

i really like bryce and wish he well wherever he signs (except against us), i really do wonder if he could go back to september and sign the 10/300 deal with the nats (or negotiate it up to 10/330 or whatever with deferred money) if he would. re-sign here for a record contract and be a legend in DC, or go through this and deal with the airing of dirty laundry as well as a ice cold free agent market

[NJ Ave]

i'd agree. you have to think when they traded for stanton he was pissed because he knew there was an opening otherwise

Aren't they playing Gardner in LF? I imagine it's even worse to be told, no thanks, we're going with the 35-year old guy who OPSd under .700 last year.

[UMDNats]

Aren't they playing Gardner in LF? I imagine it's even worse to be told, no thanks, we're going with the 35-year old guy who OPSd under .700 last year.

Kind of. Stanton-Hicks-Judge are the three main outfielders but Stanton will DH a lot and only play LF when needed (i.e., Sanchez needs to DH or something). But yeah, they basically said, "we're cool with the corpse of Jacoby Ellsbury or 35-year-old Gardy."

[Duke of Earl]

I'm not even sure Harper is better than Hicks. But if you want to make a case that Harper has a slight edge, Does that edge come close to covering the gap between $10M/year and $30M?   Hicks and Harper had reasonably comparable 2018 seasons, plus Hicks plays centerfield.  Hicks was #22 in MVP rank; Harper wasn't even in the running.

[skippy1999]

i'd agree. you have to think when they traded for stanton he was pissed because he knew there was an opening otherwise

i really like bryce and wish he well wherever he signs (except against us), i really do wonder if he could go back to september and sign the 10/300 deal with the nats (or negotiate it up to 10/330 or whatever with deferred money) if he would. re-sign here for a record contract and be a legend in DC, or go through this and deal with the airing of dirty laundry as well as a ice cold free agent market

I really wonder how much regret he might have about not doing just that, this all just makes me sad for some reason. Way to ruin whatever goodwill anyone felt towards ya, Bryce

[HalfSmokes]

And if he ends up in philly, there will be so much pressure to preform fast since the fan base will be predisposed to not like him thanks that the stuff that’s come out this week

[nfotiu]

And if he ends up in philly, there will be so much pressure to preform fast since the fan base will be predisposed to not like him thanks that the stuff that’s come out this week

A 3 year opt out probably won't help them warm up either.  It's doesn't seem worth it to invest yourself emotionally or buying a jersey if you assume he'll take off after 3 seasons.

[imref]

I really wonder how much regret he might have about not doing just that, this all just makes me sad for some reason. Way to ruin whatever goodwill anyone felt towards ya, Bryce

Great post Skippy.  Yeah, I agree, I think he probably wishes he had just accepted the Nats' offer and be done with it.

[UMDNats]

Hicks is less proven (he's been hurt a lot and just broke out in 2017) but the guy plays a good CF and hits for power, takes walks, etc. For $10 a year AAV, he's very valuable, and if he ever falls off enough to be a 4th OF, $10 million isn't bad.

[Senatorswin]

If Harper signs with the Dodgers and it comes out the Phillies offered more but he didn't want to go to Philadelphia can you imagine the hate that will go on in Philly when Bryce comes to town. Those fans will outdo themselves. They'll sell the place out just to give Harper crap.

[UMDNats]

And if he ends up in philly, there will be so much pressure to preform fast since the fan base will be predisposed to not like him thanks that the stuff that’s come out this week

bryce is jenny to philly's forrest gump. jenny is off doing her own thing, looking for anything else, and only comes back to forrest when she has no options

[Trea Burner]

If Harper signs with the Dodgers and it comes out the Phillies offered more but he didn't want to go to Philadelphia can you imagine the hate that will go on in Philly when Bryce comes to town. Those fans will outdo themselves. They'll sell the place out just to give Harper crap.

Bryce could get more than just batteries thrown at him.

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

If Harper signs with the Dodgers and it comes out the Phillies offered more but he didn't want to go to Philadelphia can you imagine the hate that will go on in Philly when Bryce comes to town. Those fans will outdo themselves. They'll sell the place out just to give Harper crap.

If it's LA, they likely will have offered a higher annual value but not as many years/total money.

[Duke of Earl]

I really wonder how much regret he might have about not doing just that,

Probably none.  I think he had decided he was going to play somewhere far west of here, and his strategy has been to make it look as if he were open to playing for an East Coast team, in order to drive up his value.  He had no more intention of playing in DC than Philly.  He's never said a word about New York, but I'll bet he had no intention of going there either.

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

Harper is that front-runner athlete who wants to be on the Yankees, Cubs or Dodgers. 2 of the 3 don’t want him and we don’t know if the Dodgers are serious or just want to drive up the price for Phillies/Giants.

Imo it kills Bryce that the Yankees didn’t even bother to pursue him.

Gary Sanchez will soon be a DH, he''s just too bad at Catcher.  That means Stanton and Judge both have to play the corner OF spots with Hicks now signed for 7 years in CF.  The Yankees never had room or a fit for Harper.  Gardner/Ellsbury/Spencer are just stop-gaps for this year while they transition Sanchez from C/part-time DH to full-time DH. 

[UMDNats]

It's also mind-blowing to me that we're in the middle of spring training baseball and the baseball world has simply moved on from Harper. Reporters are laughed at when they tweet "updates." Games are happening and teams are getting ready for the season and he's in Vegas posting workout videos.

No one cares except to get it over with.

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

It's also mind-blowing to me that we're in the middle of spring training baseball and the baseball world has simply moved on from Harper. Reporters are laughed at when they tweet "updates." Games are happening and teams are getting ready for the season and he's in Vegas posting workout videos.

No one cares except to get it over with.

And nobody expresses any angst over where Keuchel or Kimbrel are going to sign. 

[skippy1999]

Probably none.  I think he had decided he was going to play somewhere far west of here, and his strategy has been to make it look as if he were open to playing for an East Coast team, in order to drive up his value.  He had no more intention of playing in DC than Philly.  He's never said a word about New York, but I'll bet he had no intention of going there either.

that would really surprise me. Bryce clearly loves the limelight and east coast bias is real, west coast teams just don't get the buzz since their games are on so late.

[Terps and Nats]

And what a way for Bryce to endear himself to his new teammates (whomever or wherever they may be)

[Duke of Earl]

No one cares except to get it over with.

Fixed

[aBaltoNat]

Just hope he doesn't correct his approach now that he has a massive contract and becomes a perrenial MVP candidate because he's controlling his swing.