Bryce Harper and his agent Scott Boras may be waiting to see if the Washington Nationals are going to up their offer for the star outfielder before he signs a deal with another team, but that is apparently not going to happen.
As reports continue to swirl that the Philadelphia Phillies are the favorites to land Harper, Nationals owner Mark Lerner told NBC Sports Washington’s Todd Dybas on Friday that his team has turned the page from Harper.
“Nothing’s certainly changed on our end,” Lerner said. “We’ve moved on. As I said back then and we had to. There was no way we could wait around. Bryce, I’m sure will make his decision hopefully in the next few days, but we’ve filled out our roster and like I said, we wish him nothing but the best.”
For what it’s worth, Lerner seems more frustrated with the negotiations than anything. He admitted that the “door is cracked a little bit” and not completely shut, but he said the Nationals have not heard from Harper or Boras in months.
The Nationals reportedly offered Harper a 10-year, $300 million deal at the end of last season, but a large portion of the contract was deferred and not guaranteed. With Manny Machado having signed a fully guaranteed $300 million deal, not a penny less is going to cut it for Harper.
A report from earlier in the week claimed Washington has no intention of offering Harper a deal like the one Machado got from the San Diego Padres, so the Nationals are out if that is true. However, Phillies fans won’t like hearing the latest about Harper’s interest in joining their team.
