Manny Machado threatened the Padres and got an 11-year contract last year. Harper clearly wants something similar, but he has no leverage beside his popularity. Will this request hurt his image?
Bryce Harper risks alienating Phillies teammates and Philadelphia with his outrageous contract request
Harp’s popular, but, I mean, read the room, man. He was part of an epic, two-game collapse that allowed the Arizona Diamondbacks to steal the pennant just a few months ago. Twenty-five percent of Philadelphians liveand cannot afford to attend a single Phillies game, and he hopes for — what? — an extra three years and $150 million?And what if he struggles this season? What if he gets hurt again? Can you imagine the outrage at a Bryce Harper hitting .250 with 20 homers on a .
Imagine being his teammate and witnessing this. This level of audacity might rub, say, Kyle Schwarber the wrong way. Harper has eight years left. Schwarber has two. Does Harper consider himself that much more relevant or important than Schwarber? In his two seasons as a Phillie, Schwarbs has twice been the team’s best leadoff man, has twice finished in the top 20 in MVP voting, and was an All-Star in 2022.
Harper’s got a point. Even considering the $160 million he will pocket by the end of this season, he has outplayed and outperformed his contract. He won his second career MVP award in 2021. Since Harper signed in 2019, only Freddie Freeman and Juan Soto have a higher OPS than Harper’s .931 among players with at least Harper’s 581 games. His 1.137 postseason OPS in that span leads all players who have played at least 15 playoff games in the last five years.
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