Phillies rumors: Bryce Harper to get 10 years, $310 million
By John Town
The Phillies and Bryce Harper have reportedly agreed to contract terms with Harper getting $310 million over the next 10 years.
Things are coming to a head in the Bryce Harper sweepstakes as news is slowly eking out about Harper and the Phillies potentially agreeing to a contract. The latest rumor suggests the kind of contract Harper will be getting from the team.
David P. Samson of CBS Sports tweeted Sunday morning that rumors of Harper getting a 10-year, $310 million to come to Philadelphia are spreading. Samson stated Scott Boras got bailed out by team ownership and while Harper will not be Giancarlo Stanton‘s contract, he should still be Manny Machado‘s.
This comes on the heels of Jim Bowden of The Athletic stating that momentum is building for Harper to sign in Philadelphia. Bowden said Harper “could be rounding third base and heading home shortly.”
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If this is the deal Harper ultimately gets, it will be just $10 million more than what he was offered at the end of the 2018 season by the Nationals. More than four months of constant rumors and zero traction all would lead to $1 million extra per season. It should be noted that the state income taxes are far different, so Harper may keep significantly more of his money in Pennsylvania. The Nationals also like to give deferred money, which may have been in their original offer to Harper.
Now before you go out and order your Harper Phillies jersey, keep in mind that this doesn’t come from one of the normal news-breakers in the industry. Bowden has broken stories before, but he only said momentum was building.
None of the big national guys like Ken Rosenthal, Jon Morosi, or Jon Heyman are on this. Local writers have been mostly quiet throughout this offseason about rumors like this.
UPDATE: Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that talks between the two sides are “intensifying” towards a long-term deal, although nothing is close.
Still, this is the first time we’ve heard concrete numbers from any source about an offer to Harper from Philadelphia. Samson was the Marlins president before their new owners gutted the front office, so he could still have connections within the league.
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It wouldn’t be the offer everyone expected Harper to sign, but it would still be one of the biggest contracts in baseball.