As recently reported, agent Scott Boras has indicated how his client Bryce Harper is still very interested in extending his current deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, even "throwing in a tidbit" about it during a presser where he was stumping for his free agent clients like Pete Alonso, per Phillies Nation's Bailey Digh. You can certainly understand his position, as he's always been about getting maximum value for the players he represents (and himself, of course). Nothing shocking to see here.
The Phillies and the rest of the league, however, should be focused on improving their clubs in the here and now, with hundreds of millions of dollars about to be spent in MLB free agency. As important as Harper is to the club, he's tied to the Phillies for seven more years, and so he should be way down on the list of priorities at this time.
Scott Boras is unsurprisingly stumping for Bryce Harper extension with Phillies
Boras will always be a wild card in this situation, having long been a thorn in the side of the Phillies going back to the whole J.D. Drew fiasco over 25 years ago. If he decides to focus more intently on Harper being extended, it will really ratchet up the pressure on the Phillies to get something done.
This all sounds kind of crazy, considering that Harper is under contract until the next decade and personally insisted against a lack of opt-outs in the contract, which Boras incidentally advised him against. But it could indeed become a real issue.
Even after being dropped by Nick Castellanos last month, Boras isn't going anywhere, and the Phillies will have to continue to play ball with him and the machinery he has constructed just like every other team in the league. You have to wonder, though, how long they can let this thing go without it becoming a problem with their star first baseman.
Harper has been just about everything the Phillies could have asked for after signing him during 2019 spring training, with the only blemish being a lack of a championship thus far, though that can hardly be considered Harper's fault.
Scott Boras Says Bryce Harper 'Remains Open' To Contract Extension
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In addition to capturing the 2021 NL MVP Award and earning a pair of Silver Sluggers, Harper has produced 12 home runs and 24 RBI to support a .325 batting average and an OPS of 1.153 in 34 postseason games as a Phillie. Those are championship-caliber numbers that probably should have paid off in a World Series parade already, and time will tell if the team around him can seal the deal sometime over the next seven years (and possibly beyond).
The 72-year-old Boras has long exploited every loophole and played every angle in the system, and it's gotten him to the height of his profession. Once he has gotten top dollar for his current free agent clients, he will be able to turn more attention to getting extensions for his highest earners, especially in a unique situation like Harper's that could establish new precedents for job security and guaranteed money.
From a Phillies perspective, it would be best to defer any decisions until after the 2025 season when the club will have a better idea of its future direction and monetary commitments going forward. It's also worth seeing if the current core can get the team over the hump next season or if it will be time to shake things up.
Tacking five more years onto Harper's contract at this exact moment would be extremely inadvisable, and any decisions should really wait several more years. But push will come to shove sooner than that, and next offseason should represent the earliest opening of any negotiation window. Hopefully all sides can live with that and put any discussions on the back burner right now.