Long considered the favorites to ink the 26-year-old, multiple clubs jumped into the fray over the last two weeks but the Phillies offer gave Harper and his agent Scott Boras exactly what they coveted - a long term commitment that's the richest in Major League history.
The contract is the largest ever signed by a free-agent in American professional sports, trumping the 10-year, $300-million deal signed by Manny Machado last week.
The addition of Harper gives the Phillies arguably one of the top three offenses in baseball. He provides a left-handed bat with pop that manager Gabe Kapler can slot anywhere in the order from the two-to-five spot. Though he hit just .249 last season, he posted an OPS+ of 133 and hit 34 homers. In seven big league seasons, he's been an All-Star six times and won an MVP award in 2015 when he hit .330 with 42 homers and 99 RBIs.Boras: “The goal was to get the longest contract possible. Bryce wanted 1 city for the rest of his career. That is what I was instructed to do. It is very difficult in this time to get length of contract that takes a player to age 37, 38, 39.” #Phillies— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 28, 2019
If he stays on his current trajectory, the Phillies could have a potential future Hall of Famer roaming the outfield until 2032.
He's that good.
Along with being a perennial All-Star, the Phillies also now have a personality that can act as the face of a franchise on the upswing. An organization that spent over $430-million on talent this offseason to improve and compete in a tough NL East and ideally make a deep postseason run. A personality with swagger that'll increase ticket sales, jersey sales, and boost television ratings. He's a franchise altering player, a generational talent that has the potential to again put Philadelphia on the baseball map.
The Giants, per reports, offered 12-years at $310-million but were unwilling to match the $330-million offered by the Phils. In fact, because of the high tax rate in California, the Giants would have had to have offered more than $350 million to offset the cost of higher taxes to equal $330 million.Gabe Kapler talking about Bryce Harper and how the #Phillies found out they got him. pic.twitter.com/WLTv4K0ax6— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) February 28, 2019
Boras said back in December at the Winter Meetings that the length of a contract was an important issue for Harper. Turns out, he was telling the truth.
The Phillies will likely introduce Harper at a press conference on Monday. In the meantime, tickets on the secondary market for Opening Day are already fetching triple face value.
It's the Harper impact already at work.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR
