There was a report on Fox Sports last night that the White Sox of all people were considering signing Machado & Harper.
Anybody know anything further on that front?
From MLBN this morning:
Harper's late-season rejection of Nats' 10/$300 offer means they're out, right?
Mariners looking to blow it up completely could mean some interesting pieces get moved.
Yanks apparently mulling dumping Stanton to get Harper.
Nats are never out of any negotiation if Boras is involved. Boras has more clients on the Nats than any other MLB roster, and he has a direct dial to the Nats owner. That said, appears that the Nats leaked the offered deal for cover with their fan-base if Harper signs elsewhere.
Yanks will have a hard time trading Stanton as he has a no-trade clause. Stanton scuttled deals to the Cards and Giants when he was with the Marlins. Unless the Yankees can get the Dodgers (or possibly the Astros) to take on that contract, Stanton would veto a trade anywhere else.
From MLBN this morning:
Harper's late-season rejection of Nats' 10/$300 offer means they're out, right?
Mariners looking to blow it up completely could mean some interesting pieces get moved.
Yanks apparently mulling dumping Stanton to get Harper.
I don't think the Nats want Harper, or more specifically, don't want to undertake the financial obligations and the resulting negative impact it will have on their ability to add other pieces to improve their roster (catcher, starting pitcher, maybe 2nd base). The Nats have young controllable and cheap organizational depth in the OF. Without Harper, they lose power, but improve defensively and on the bases (and can improve in other place with the extra cash). In the end, they will win more games next year and beyond with an Soto-Robles-Eaton OF, another top of the rotation stater and top 10 MLB catcher, than the Nats would with Harper and no significant additions at those spots. The Nats made the $300 million/10 year offer so that they could say to their fanbase that they tried to sign Harper, but the Nats knew he was not taking that deal. They did not want him to.
All that said, the Nats 90 year-old owner Ted Lerner is a wildcard. He negotiated the Matt Wieters deal directly with Boras - which turned out to be a disaster. He negotiated the Strasburg extension directly with Boras which looked like a good deal at the time. If Boras does not get the deal he wants for Harper from another team, he will make another run at Lerner. Lerner is desperate to win a W-S before he kicks, and he is running out of time.
Also, guessing the revenue projections are better for the Nats with Harper than without, regardless of on field play. He's one of the most marketable players in MLB - much moreso than Trout and more than Turner, Rendon or Soto for the Nats.
I don't think the Nats want Harper, or more specifically, don't want to undertake the financial obligations and the resulting negative impact it will have on their ability to add other pieces to improve their roster (catcher, starting pitcher, maybe 2nd base). The Nats have young controllable and cheap organizational depth in the OF. Without Harper, they lose power, but improve defensively and on the bases (and can improve in other place with the extra cash). In the end, they will win more games next year and beyond with an Soto-Robles-Eaton OF, another top of the rotation stater and top 10 MLB catcher, than the Nats would with Harper and no significant additions at those spots. The Nats made the $300 million/10 year offer so that they could say to their fanbase that they tried to sign Harper, but the Nats knew he was not taking that deal. They did not want him to.
All that said, the Nats 90 year-old owner Ted Lerner is a wildcard. He negotiated the Matt Wieters deal directly with Boras - which turned out to be a disaster. He negotiated the Strasburg extension directly with Boras which looked like a good deal at the time. If Boras does not get the deal he wants for Harper from another team, he will make another run at Lerner. Lerner is desperate to win a W-S before he kicks, and he is running out of time.
100% true and part of the economics equation in present day baseball. Whomever signs Harper will get a bump in TV ratings and at the gate.
This is a pretty huge set of assumptions packed into one statement. What pitcher are they getting? What top-10 catcher are they getting? Eaton's been hurt and under 100 games played the last two years. Who's the fourth OF? That's also a ton of expectation to lay on Soto and Robles.
This is a pretty huge set of assumptions packed into one statement. What pitcher are they getting? What top-10 catcher are they getting? Eaton's been hurt and under 100 games played the last two years. Who's the fourth OF? That's also a ton of expectation to lay on Soto and Robles.