Bryce Harper is headed to the city of brotherly love. Harper will sign a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. It is the largest contract ever in the history of American Sports that will surpass the $325 million extension Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Marlins.
Jeff Passan of ESPN is the first to report the news:
The deal will not include any deferred money and will not include any opt-outs. His average annual value of the deal will be worth $25.38 million per year. That tops that 10-year, $250 million deal ARod signed in 2001. Give Scott Boras a ton of credit. This is a massive contract.
A year ago, Harper was just a 1.3 WAR player. The reasoning behind that largely fell because he was statistically one of the worst outfielders in baseball a year ago. Based on WAR numbers, Harper should have landed a $10 million per year contract but that’s the reality we live in.
Harper, 26, hit just .249 a year ago. He hit under .250 in 2 of the past 3 years. Harper has always been a big power guy with a high on base percentage. 34 homers and .393 helps his cause.
Just imagine the contract Harper would have landed if he were actually one of the best players in baseball? This isn’t Nolan Arenado we’re talking about. With Harper, the name recognition really helps his stock as a player. Harper’s best season came in 2015 when he was a monster (10 WAR player) but really hasn’t been the same since. Is it
How much better are the Phillies today than they were a year ago? Well, you can say they spent their money. Just look at how Albert Pujols with Angels.
