CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Bryce Harper lingered on the market long enough that the Dodgers and Giants have emerged as serious threats for the Phillies.
The Dodgers met Sunday with Harper and his agent Scott Boras in Las Vegas. MLB.com confirmed Wednesday that the Giants met with Harper and Boras on Tuesday. It is the second time San Francisco has met with Harper in February, but the more important news from that meeting is that NBC Sports Bay Area said the Giants discussed a 10-year deal, which presumably would need to beat the 10-year, $300 million contract Manny Machado signed last week with the Padres. The San Francisco Chronicle later reported that everybody talking to Harper about a contract is discussing a 10-year deal.
If those reports are true, it could be bad news for the Phillies.
It is believed that Harper prefers to play on the West Coast, closer to his Las Vegas home. If the Dodgers or Giants put together a competitive offer, Harper seems likely to choose one of them.
Of course, nobody knows what any other club is offering.
There is no question Harper and Boras want to beat Machado’s $300 million contract; Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year, $325 million contract extension, which he signed with the Marlins in 2014; and Nolan Arenado’s eight-year, $260 million contract extension, which he signed with the Rockies on Tuesday.
Figure the winner must beat $325 million.
The winner probably must beat another number, too. Average annual value is an important aspect of these negotiations.
The average annual value of Arenado’s deal is $32.5 million, which is the record for a position player. Of course, reading between the lines, it has been mentioned in the past 24 hours that Arenado’s $26 million salary this season remains the same, meaning the average annual value of Arenado’s new money in the deal is $33.4 million.
One can bet that Boras is using that number to get teams to commit more money.
The feeling at Spectrum Field is that the negotiations with Harper are nearing the end, good or bad. Earlier this week the Phillies remained confident that Harper would pick the biggest deal on the table, which meant they were confident they would sign him because they did not believe the Dodgers or Giants were interested in long-term deals.
It appears that has changed.