Phillies rumors: Team will give Harper, Machado best contract offers

As most expect, the Phillies will reportedly give Bryce Harper and Manny Machado the best contract offers of all the teams pursuing them.

With reports surfacing about Bryce Harper and Manny Machado‘s lukewarm interest in playing for the Phillies, it became clear that they would have to outspend the competition to land either player. It appears the team knows that, and they are willing to break the bank to sign either player.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Thursday that the team will focus on Harper and Machado with the signing of David Robertson complete. He also stated that rival teams believe Philadelphia will make each player the highest contract offer.

Nightengale’s report falls in line with Wednesday’s report that the team is willing to offer each the ten-plus-year deals they are looking for, while the White Sox won’t go beyond seven years. The Dodgers don’t want to give Harper a long-term deal either, while the Yankees don’t want to reach double digits on Machado.

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While we know that Philadelphia will give Harper and Machado their best offers, it still may not sway them into signing there. Machado’s longstanding interest in playing for the Yankees remains a significant factor in his decision. He reportedly will sign with the Yankees if the offers are close, but they won’t be.

Harper is rumored to be interested in playing for the Dodgers, his hometown team after growing up in Las Vegas. They traded away Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig, potentially clearing space for Harper. He even liked an Instagram post suggesting that, but as of now nothing has moved forward between them.

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The two have their preferred landing spots to be sure, but money will ultimately be the deciding factor. It is clear now that if the players are following the money, they will wind up in Philadelphia.

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