The Philadelphia Phillies must be beaming after reportedly signing this offseason’s prized free agent, but it doesn’t appear they were without competition.
Bryce Harper on Thursday reportedly agreed to a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies, and the deal has a no-trade clause and no opt-outs.
Over the course of the winter, Harper had many suitors in a variety of capacities, but as it came down to the wire, it seemed as though the Phillies, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers were the most serious.
So what did the two teams that missed out have to offer? We now have an idea.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and NBC Sports’ Alex Pavlovic shed some light on the Giants’ reported offer and why a deal in the Bay Area didn’t work out.
The #SFGiants offered $310 million over 12 years for Harper, confirming @PavlovicNBCS report. The Giants would have had to go at least to $335 or even higher, they were informed because of exorbitant California taxes
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 28, 2019
MLB.com’s Jon Morosi then dropped this nugget, indicating the Dodgers were willing to give Harper a massive annual value, but weren’t willing to go super long term.
In Bryce Harper talks, I am told #Dodgers were willing to offer a four-year deal worth approximately $45 million per season. That would have allowed Harper to shatter the all-time AAV record and become a free agent at age 30. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) February 28, 2019
It’s clear Harper had a variety of quality offers, but it seems long-term security was high on his list. Either way, the Phillies have become quite the team to watch this season.
