Getty Bryce Harper
The Los Angeles Dodgers are shooting their shot with top MLB free agent Bryce Harper. One of the most highly sought after players in all of baseball is still attempting to decide on his future, and the Dodgers have found their way back into the mix. Whether through coincidence or some impressive planning, their recruiting of Harper took an interesting/fun twist on Monday.
As ESPN’s Pedro Gomez revealed, the Dodgers have a Brinks truck at their spring training facility, shortly after meeting with Harper.
As impressive as that timing is, there’s at least some reason to believe it really had something to do with Harper. As Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reported (revealed by Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times), Harper and the Dodgers met on Sunday night.
#Dodgers officials met with Bryce Harper last night as @JesseSanchezMLB first reported, @jorgecastillo and I confirmed.
Timing of Brinks Truck Just Coincidence?
As awesome as this would have been, it seems this was either just a way to get Harper’s attention from a distance or indeed a coincidence, considering the Dodgers’ spring training is in Arizona. As Sanchez also revealed, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the team and Harper met in Las Vegas over the weekend.
The Los Angeles Dodgers re-engaged with Bryce Harper’s camp two weeks ago seeking a shorter-term deal, sources tell @RamonaShelburne and me. On heels of @JesseSanchezMLB report the parties met Sunday in Las Vegas, question becomes whether either side will move toward the other.
At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising to see teams go to any lengths possible to wrap up the recruitment of one of baseballs best players. After Manny Machado signed his massive deal with the San Diego Padres, all eyes turned to the former Washington Nationals star, and it seems he’s opened the door up to a number of options.
Bryce Harper’s Likely Free Agent Contract
Basing it of Machado’s deal would make sense, and as Passan detailed, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand revealed the 10-year, $300 million contract he signed. This marked the single biggest free-agent deal in American sports history.
Manny Machado’s deal, as @Feinsand first reported, is for 10 years and $300 million with an opt-out after the fifth season.
A monumental deal — the single biggest free agent contract in American sports history.
And now every eye in baseball turns to Bryce Harper. His move.
Beyond that, Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown revealed Machado also has the choice to opt out of his deal after the fifth year. Harper’s deal will almost certainly either match or be slightly larger than Machado’s. It’ll be interesting to see how the situation plays out, but Harper has 521 RBIs and 184 home runs in 927 games over the span of seven seasons.
Whatever the size of his new contract winds up looking like, it’ll be tough to argue that he doesn’t deserve to be paid on the same level of Machado. Regardless, both players provide an offensive upside which is tough to find in baseball.
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