Bryce Harper has reportedly signed a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, Sports Illustrated ‘s Jon Heyman reports in a tweet . However, as of this writing, terms of the deal have not been announced.
As yet, neither the signing itself, nor the terms of the contract, have been officially confirmed — either by Harper’s camp, by Major League Baseball, or by the Phillies organization. However, The New York Post is confirming Heyman’s story, and they cited their own MLB writer, Joel Sherman, as confirming the breaking news. The source for Heyman’s claims, and Sherman’s claims, is not yet known.
Just hours ago, The Inquisitr reported that Bryce Harper and the Phillies were miles apart on a contract — and that the two sides were parting ways, with the right fielder reportedly looking towards a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers or the San Francisco Giants. The sticking point, as is usually the case in such situations, was money, and the Phillies’ apparent unwillingness to spend it. Harper had been angling for $300 million over ten years as a starting point, and the Phillies, according to a companion report from The Inquisitr , were only interested in paying $270 million over the same period.
Now, however, according to a tweet from Sports Illustrated , it appears that the organization came up with that kind of money — and then some.
“Bryce Harper’s deal is reportedly $330M over 13 years, a new record for overall dollars and does not include any opt-outs.”
What this means is that for the next 13 years — until 2032 — Bryce Harper and the Phillies are stuck with each other. Harper will be 39 years old by the end of this contract — almost certainly nearing retirement — yet still bringing in approximately $25.38 million per year.
Breaking: Bryce Harper and the Phillies have agreed to a deal, per @JonHeyman pic.twitter.com/WPlDQGyN3w
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 28, 2019
For weeks, the baseball community has been playing a guessing game as to where the star right-fielder would go. Early in the running, the Chicago White Sox were reportedly in the mix, but instead they went with another big-money free agent, Manny Machado. This meant that Harper, formerly of the Washington Nationals, would likely remain in the National League for the entirety of his career.
Bryce Harper was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2012, the NL MVP in 2015, and has been named six times to the NL All-Star team. His 2018 numbers were not on-par with his breakout rookie season, but he still managed to put up an impressive 34 home runs and rank ninth in on-base percentage, according to Sports Illustrated . And though his 2018 slash line (.249/.393/.496) isn’t particularly impressive, he still has a career slash line of.279/.388/.512.
This is a developing story. More news about the Bryce Harper deal will be provided as it becomes available.