Why the Phillies are in no rush to sign Bryce Harper, Manny Machado
It may be frustrating, but the Phillies have ample reason not to rush to sign Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, and they are in no rush to sign either.
Spring training is less than three weeks, but Bryce Harper and Manny Machado still appear nowhere close to signing. This leaves fans of the Phillies and other teams pursuing them understandably frustrated, but there is plenty of reason to not be in a rush to sign them.
Machado and Harper both came into the offseason looking for record contracts. Harper declined a ten-year, $300 million offer from the Nationals, signaling he was looking for way more. Machado is rumored to want a deal larger than Giancarlo Stanton‘s 13-year, $325 million contract signed in November of 2014.
Teams across the league have balked at these asking prices. Few have the financial capital to pay for such a deal, and fewer still have the luxury tax space to do so. This has left Philadelphia among a small group of teams willing to sign these players.
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No specific details of an offer from Philadelphia to Machado have been reported, but the White Sox are reportedly in the $200-250 million range, so Philadelphia probably is too. This isn’t close to what Machado is reportedly asking for, so the two sides will have to find a middle ground.
Both team and player will be patient in the negotiation process, as manager Gabe Kapler stated on the Felske Files podcast:
The urgency the various cities feel about the free agent coming is real, it’s fair, it’s understandable. At the same time, the job of the club, and the job of the players is to be as patient as humanly possible. That doesn’t mean you don’t feel those feelings of urgency and wanting this to be done as soon as possible, but you can start planning for lineup construction and defensive alignment and who starts what game as late as the middle of the spring.
With spring training drawing closer, the odds of one of Machado or Harper blinking and lowering their asking price grows larger. They will eventually have to decide if they want to hold out well into March to get the deal they want, or if they are better off taking what they can get.
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I should note that this works both ways. While Machado and Harper may have to lower their asking price, the Phillies or any other team in the hunt may also have to raise their offer. However, they still wouldn’t have to offer as much as if they were to meet their current asking price.
Owner John Middleton made it clear he will spend “stupid money” this offseason need be, but why should he do so if he doesn’t have to? He could call up Harper or Machado today and give them a blank check, but that would be unnecessarily giving up his leverage. There is no need to spend the extra money now if you can still get the player at a lower price later on.
dark. Next. Phillies one step closer to signing Bryce Harper
Given these factors, don’t expect a signing to come soon. Don’t think it means the team has no interest in signing either player; they certainly do, they’re just trying to get the best deal that they can.