With the World Series now over, the focus in Major League Baseball shifts to the offseason and free agency. This year’s class is a star-studded one, and it is headlined by Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals and Manny Machado of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Harper and Machado are two of the biggest stars the sport has to offer and at just 26 years of age, both are expected to command two of the biggest contracts ever.
With Corey Seager due back from injury to play shortstop, it will be interesting to see how much the Dodgers pursue re-signing Machado. They could instead shift their focus to Harper to improve their outfield.
They may not even have a chance to land the former National League MVP though, as his agent Scott Boras said on YES Network that Harper already has a contract in place with a team that he would not yet reveal:
“We know who the team is. It’s already completed and done, but Bryce has told me that he wanted to tell you personally, so I’m gonna let him do that.”
It is hard to tell if Boras was actually being serious or not, but if Harper does have a deal in place already, it would have to be with the Nationals as he has not yet been allowed to communicate with other teams yet.
In his seven Major League seasons, Harper has been named an All-Star six times in addition to winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2012 and MVP in 2015.
He got off to a slow start in 2018, but still finished the season hitting .249/.393/.496 with 34 home runs and a career-high 100 RBI.
The Dodgers certainly do not lack outfield depth, but if they feel that a player of Harper’s caliber could help them win the World Series, then they should not hesitate to break the bank for him. Los Angeles reportedly claimed Harper off waivers in August but he was pulled back by the Nationals.
