(They already had Giancarlo Stanton and Judge under control through at least 2022 and would soon lock up Aaron Hicks.) Frankly, some teams, such as the Braves, just didn’t see Harper as worth a record contract. The Yankees made pitching their offseason priority, and even dabbled in the Machado sweepstakes because they saw more value in the Gold Glove infielder than another power-hitting outfielder. Harper lost another potential key suitor when the New York Yankees showed almost no interest whatsoever. Still, detractors could define Harper as a superstar celebrity without the superstar numbers. Aaron Judge (10) and Shohei Ohtani (33) were the only other baseball players on the list of 50 such athletes.
London-based SportsPro Media ranked Harper last September as the 13th most marketable athlete in the world. The Phillies are getting a star, especially in name recognition. A club source said before this offseason began that the club had enough money to sign both Machado and Harper, but wanted just one of them in order to keep money in reserve for Trout. That AAV still leaves room for the Phillies to bid on Mike Trout if Trout becomes a free agent after the 2020 season. To surpass Stanton, what Boras and Harper did essentially was to use the last three years as the equivalent of deferred money to help the Phillies reduce the amount counted toward the Competitive Balance Tax, or luxury tax threshold. You’d better be a real good defensive player, too. When Manny Machado is 35, let’s see if he gets those millions over the remaining three years. Bryce Harper wanted to play on a winning team now and one that has the revenues to sustain it. He took more years,” Boras said, comparing the deal to the Machado contract. All the stagecraft had the desired effect. (The top average annual value bid to Harper was $43 million Boras would not confirm it was from the Dodgers.) On Tuesday, right behind their divisional rival, the Giants jetted in with a 12-year offer worth around $310 million. On Sunday, with the exhaust from Middleton’s jet barely dissipated, a contingent from the Dodgers flew into McCarran Airport in Las Vegas to offer Harper a record amount of money per year, but only on a deal covering four or five years. On Saturday the Middletons ate with the Harpers again, this time for lunch before John and Leigh zipped back to Florida on their private jet. Starting with the Friday dinner, it took one last whirlwind of a week for Boras to work his stagecraft and get the years needed to surpass the Stanton contract. “It took a hell of a long time to get those years,” Boras said. He had neither the length nor the record dollars he wanted until the last week in February. Still, the Phillies were not comfortable offering Harper more than 10 years.
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