How much does Bryce Harper want? How many years? Here's a guess at what a contract from the Phillies could look like.
What will it take to put Bryce Harper in a Phillies uniform?
As the baseball world waits to find out where (and when) Harper will sign, it is anyone’s guess as to what this player (and super-agent Scott Boras) wants.
But based on what’s happened around the sport this winter, here are some guesses as to what kind of records Harper/Boras could look to break in a potential blockbuster deal with the Phillies.
$ 326 million–as a starting point
Let’s start here. Once Manny Machado received $ 300M from the San Diego Padres, the idea of Harper taking a dime less became impossible to believe. So what’s next? Giancarlo Stanton‘s current all-time record of $ 325M from the Miami Marlins. If the Phillies aren’t starting the offer at $ 326M, it’s hard to believe traction is present.
$ 34.3 million per year
Prior to Nolan Arenado’s extension ($ 32.5M per year) with the Colorado Rockies, Miguel Cabrera ($ 31.8M) held the record for highest-average annual value for a position player. While, say, a 10-year, $ 330M deal would still have Harper top Arenado’s new number, Boras and Co. could be looking to top Zack Greinke ($ 34.3M) AAV now. That would mean a 10-year deal would have to top $ 340 million.
$ 42.1 million in year one
For luxury tax purposes, Harper’s eventual long-term deal is a flat number. It doesn’t matter how much he makes in year one vs. year five because baseball calculates the total average over the years.
That could be good news for the Phillies if Harper wants to top his ex-teammate, Max Scherzer, in salary for the 2019 season. Scherzer is slated to make $ 42.1M in 2019, so a front-loaded contract could put Harper above that.
If a deal is struck anytime soon with all three pillars covered, we could be talking about a 10-year, $ 350M deal with a front-loaded $ 43M in the first year.
Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.