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After He Turns Down $300 Million Deal, Nats Appear To Give Up on Harper

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What many Washington Nationals fans feared was all but confirmed Friday when owner Mark Lerner admitted that All-Star slugger Bryce Harper is unlikely to return to the team in free agency.

Lerner was speaking with WJFK-FM in Washington and said Harper and agent Scott Boras have “decided to move on” from the only franchise Harper has ever known.

“I really don’t expect him to come back at this point. I think they’ve decided to move on,” Lerner said. “There’s just too much money out there that he’d be leaving on the table. That’s just not Mr. Boras’ MO to leave money on the table.”

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“We couldn’t be fonder of the two of them, Kayla and Bryce,” the owner said of Harper and his wife. “They’re like family. I mean, they’ve been with us — first time we met him, he was 16 years old. It’s hard to see somebody like that go, but unfortunately it’s a strong possibility that’s going to happen.”

Harper reportedly rejected a 10-year, $300 million offer from Washington on the final day of the 2018 season.

The contract would have ranked as the second-biggest in MLB history, trailing only the 13-year, $325 million deal that Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Miami Marlins in 2014.

Lerner said the $300 million offer was the best the team could do in order to still field a competitive team with a chance to win the NL East.

Do you think Bryce Harper's next contract will surpass $400 million?

Just days before Lerner essentially closed the book on Harper in D.C., the Nationals signed former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin to a six-year, $140 million deal.

With that much money tied up in a career .500 pitcher, Lerner revealed that if Harper decided he wanted to return to Washington, it would be at even less than the $300 million originally offered.

“It very well may be,” Lerner said. “We’ll have to sit down and figure it out. If he comes back, it’s a strong possibility that we won’t be able to make it work (financially).”

The Washington Post reported that Boras is aiming for $400 million for Harper’s next contract, which would be not only the biggest in MLB history but the biggest in sports history.

That total value would top the $365 million contract that boxer Canelo Alvarez signed with DAZN in October.

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Harper turned 26 in October and his best years may still be in front of him, which is amazing considering the numbers he’s already put up.

He’s hit 184 home runs, which is the 12th-most in MLB history for a player through his age-25 season. Harper was the 2015 NL MVP and became the youngest player to unanimously win the award.

But he also has never won a postseason series, and the chance to play for a perennial winner is likely the biggest factor in his choice to leave the Nationals, aside from the money.

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Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009.
Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009 and previously worked for ESPN, CBS and STATS Inc. A native of Louisiana, Ross now resides in Houston.
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